NINE arrests in Italy of activists accused of raising money for Hamas have prompted fears of a wider crackdown on Palestine solidarity.

Among those arrested was Mohammad Hannoun, president of the Palestinian Association in Italy.

Anti-terrorism prosecutors called Mr Hannoun “the head of the Italian cell of the Hamas organisation” and accuse him and eight others of sending about €7 million (£6.1m) via charities to “associations based in Gaza, the Palestinian Territories, or Israel owned, controlled by or linked to Hamas.”

Hamas is listed as a terrorist organisation by the European Union.

Because it has been in government in Gaza since 2006, however, many civilian organisations can be accused of links to it — hence a furore whipped up by supporters of Israel in Britain this year over a documentary that featured footage of the child of a “Hamas official,” actually a deputy minister in the territory’s agriculture department.

Italian authorities’ elaboration that the associations in receipt of funds have been declared illegal in Israel because of their ties to Hamas raise further questions, as Tel Aviv routinely charges civil organisations, charities and media outlets critical of its apartheid regime of “terrorism.”

The UN’s own aid agency for Palestinians, UNRWA, had its funding frozen by multiple Western states this year after Israel made unsubstantiated allegations that some of its employees had been involved in the October 7 2023 Hamas attack.

A report in Italian left newspaper Il Manifesto which studied the arrest order issued by the investigating judge observes that “much of the information gathered on the organisations allegedly financing Hamas comes directly from Israel” and “the investigative assessments are entirely based on evidence gathered by the Tel Aviv authorities.”

Mr Hannoun has long denied having funds sent to armed resistance groups in Palestine, but groups which raise funds for Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails, or for the families of Palestinians killed by Israel, are often designated as Hamas proxies by Tel Aviv.

Italy’s Handala Ali Cultural Centre, a non-profit promoting Palestinian history and culture, said the arrests indicated “an increasingly widespread repressive wave to silence a solidarity movement.”