Photograph Source: Ukrain4Pal – CC BY 4.0

In a chilling escalation of state repression, the Italian government has launched a full-scale judicial assault on the Palestinian solidarity movement. The targets are no longer just individual voices of dissent; they are the very infrastructure of Palestinian survival.

This week, under the codename Operation Domino, the Guardia di Finanza and DIGOS orchestrated a theatrical raid across Italy. The operation saw 9 people arrested and 25 individuals targeted in a sweeping investigation, with searches conducted in Genova, Milan, Rome, and other major cities. Crucially, this investigation was conducted under the auspices of the Anti-Mafia District Directorate (DDA). This detail is not a technicality; it is a political statement. By placing humanitarian activists under the jurisdiction of Anti-Mafia prosecutors, the state is deliberately attempting to equate the moral imperative of saving lives with the criminal enterprise of organized crime.

At the center of this persecution is Mohammad Hannoun, the architect and leader of the Association of Palestinians in Italy. For decades, Hannoun has been a reference point for the community, organizing aid for a people being starved to death by an occupying army.

The state seized approximately €1 million in cash, and flaunted this in the press to paint a picture of corrupt criminality. But let us strip away the sensationalism. In a besieged concentration camp where the banking system has been obliterated by Israeli airstrikes, cash is often the only way to move aid. By criminalizing these transfers, Italy is not stopping terrorism; it is stopping bread, water, and medicine.

The “Hamas” Pretext: Following the Zionist Playbook

The core accusation driving Operation Domino is that these funds were financing Hamas. This is a deliberate, cynical manipulation of reality designed to criminalize all aid to Gaza.

The West knows perfectly well that Hamas was and is the governing body of Gaza. They run the municipalities, the emergency services, and the social welfare networks. It is structurally impossible to send humanitarian aid to Gaza without interacting with the governance structure of the territory. By defining any financial interaction with the governing body of Gaza as “terrorism,” the West has knowingly and willingly adopted the Zionist playbook: equate the entire civilian population with the armed resistance, and then starve them both.

A Dossier Built on Lies and Mossad Intel

Let us be clear about the origins of this investigation. This was not independent police work; it was a hit job ordered by Tel Aviv. Operation Domino was spearheaded with the “full cooperation” of Israeli intelligence services, including Mossad.

The 300-page dossier accusing these groups of funding military activities dissolves under scrutiny. It is a cut-and-paste job of Zionist propaganda, mimicking the exact strategy Israel used to try and destroy UNRWA: fabricate accusations to cut off the lifeline of humanitarian aid. Italy, acting as a loyal colonial subcontractor, has eagerly adopted this lie, effectively criminalizing charity to protect the starvation tactics of its ally.

Panic in the Palaces of Power

Why launch Operation Domino now? The answer lies in the streets. The Meloni government is terrified of the mass movement that has erupted across the peninsula. In recent months, literally millions of Italians have flooded the piazzas. From the General Strikes led by the Genovese port workers to the student occupations of the licei, the Italian public has overwhelmingly rejected their government’s complicity in colonial genocide.

The rhetoric emanating from Rome reveals this panic. Matteo Salvini, the Deputy Prime Minister, has called for the total suppression of pro-Palestine marches, labeling them “hate rallies” and demanding zero tolerance for dissent. By branding Hannoun and his associates as “terror financiers,” the government aims to delegitimize this entire movement, painting millions of peaceful protesters as terrorist sympathizers.

Crosetto’s Threat: The Mask Slips

The motivation behind this crackdown is fear. This was laid bare recently by Defense Minister Guido Crosetto at the Brother’s of Italy, Atreju festival. In a heated exchange with journalist Marco Travaglio, Crosetto issued a threat that should chill every citizen to the bone:

“Anyone that has accused the Italian government of complicity in Genocide should pay for the rest of their lives.”

This is the language of an authoritarian enforcer. It confirms that the persecution of Hannoun, the constant and continuing smears against Francesca Albanese, and the attacks on the Global Sumud Flotilla are part of a desperate attempt to silence those exposing the government’s crimes.

Criminal Complicity: From Leonardo to the ICC

Crosetto’s panic is well-founded. The Italian government is currently facing a formal complaint at the International Criminal Court (ICC) for complicity in genocide. The complaint names Giorgia Meloni, Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, Crosetto and Roberto Cingolani — the CEO of the defense giant Leonardo.

While persecuting activists for sending food to Gaza, the Italian state continues to send weapons components to Tel Aviv via Leonardo. The hypocrisy is blinding: Benjamin Netanyahu, an indicted war criminal wanted for incitement to genocide, flies through Italian airspace unscathed, while Palestinian human rights defenders have their bank accounts frozen by the Anti-Mafia squad.

The West’s Descent into Darkness

This is not just an Italian phenomenon; it is a Western Rampage of Repression. From the freezing of Palestine Action’s assets in the UK to the McCarthyite purges in the US, the West has surrendered its moral standing.

They have allowed the situation in Gaza to be defined by Donald Trump —a sleazy real estate shark turned wannabe dictator— and Benjamin Netanyahu — an indicted war criminal desperate to cling to power. In their world, dismantling one of the most violent and destructive colonial projects in history is a crime, but funding it is a virtue.

The Intimidation Has Failed

Operation Domino was designed to topple the movement, but the pieces are refusing to fall. The persecution of Mohammad Hannoun has not intimidated the people; it has clarified the stakes.

They are trying to crush a movement that refuses to let the world look away. But this strategy will fail. You can freeze bank accounts, but you cannot freeze the conscience of a generation. On one side stands the Rome-Tel Aviv axis of genocide; on the other stands the global movement for justice. Crosetto wants us to “pay for the rest of our lives,” but it is they who will eventually pay the price of history’s judgment.

The post Operation Domino: Italy’s War on Palestinian Charity and the Criminalization of Survival appeared first on CounterPunch.org.

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