Italian media is reporting the UniCredit bank has closed the accounts of the Associazione Benefica Di Solidarieta’ Con Il Popolo Palestinese (ABSPP), an Italian charity sending funds to the Palestinian Territories.. According to the Il Giornale article:
December 11, 2021 “We apologize for the inconvenience. We wait a few days for the opening of a new bank account at another bank ». The notice can be found on the home page of the Abspp-Odv website, the “Charitable association of solidarity with the Palestinian people”, a controversial [charity] that has offices in Genoa, Milan (in via Venini) and Rome […]
[Translated from Italian original using Google.]
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The article states the closure was enacted after a series of suspicious activities and that the issue was reported to the Italian Financial Intelligence Unit for further investigation. According to an article in La Repubblica, the money transfers were made to beneficiaries in the Palestinian territories not listed on the ASBPP website. La Repubblica also reported ASBPP leader Mohamed Hannoun was at the center of “numerous inquiries” over fundraising activities for the families of Palestinian suicide bombers.
The ABSPP was the Italian member of the Union of Good (UOG), a worldwide coalition of Muslim charities designated by the US for Hamas fundraising activities. A report written by the GIOR Editor identifies the UOG and most of its trustees and member organizations as associated with the Global Muslim Brotherhood. Israel banned the UOG charities in 2008.
ABSPP leader Hannoun, a prominent Italian pro-Palestinian activist, represented the European Campaign to End the Siege On Gaza (ECESG), an umbrella of non-governmental pro-Palestinian organizations across Europe that coordinated various Gaza flotillas. The ECESG Executive Director was also an officer of the London-based Palestinian Return Centre, designated by the Israeli government and described as the “Hamas’ organizational branch in Europe.” The ECESG was among the participants in the June 2010 Gaza Flotilla involved in a violent altercation with Israel naval forces.
In October 2021, the Global Influence Operations Report (GIOR) reported that Hannoun had met with several Italian Members of Parliament in Rome to discuss matters related to Israel and the humanitarian situation in the Middle East. After the meeting, former Five Star Movement MP Yana Chiara Ehm published a Facebook post saying she thanked Hanoun for the fruitful debate, noting that it ended with a clear call to “organize a humanitarian mission in Lebanon.”
The Hamas charter says that it is “one of the wings of the Muslim Brothers in Palestine,” and a Hamas journalist has acknowledged the role that the “international Muslim Brotherhood” has played in providing funds for the purchase of weapons. Hamas is supported financially and politically by the Global Muslim Brotherhood.
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