Another pro-Hamas demonstration in Milan. Who pays for it?

There is something within the Italian Ministry of Interior that simply doesn’t seem to be working, and the confirmation comes from the pro-Pal demonstration, organized by the usual far-left, Palestinian and Islamist groups, which paralyzed the center of Milan on Saturday, April 12^th. During the event, several commercial activities were vandalized.

Nothing new, since thousands of demonstrations against Israel and its allies have taken place in Italy, and especially in Milan, since the massacre of October 7^th, 2023. Yesterday’s demonstration once again showed its real and violent nature, with the usual slogans such as “Intifada intifada” and “From the river to the sea”, calling for the annihilation of the State of Israel.

One banner carried by the demonstrators read “Tear down the Zionist state,”, while another sign said: “For the revolutionary destruction of the Zionist state of Israel”. And again, a Tunisian flag with the writing “F**k you Israel”, an image of Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu being stepped on and much more. It is indeed evident that the hatred for Israel is the common denominator of these different groups marching side to side.

Among the demonstrators, individuals wearing sleeveless vests with the banner “Association of Palestinians in Italy”, which is led by Mohammad Hannoun, a Palestinian activist who was sanctioned in October 2024 by the US Department of Treasury after been indicated as Hamas’ man and money collector in Italy. Again, no action has been taken since then by the Italian authorities. Hannoun’s activity is still up and running.

Moreover, a bank branch in Piazzale Lagosta was defaced with the words “Shoot Giorgia“; a clear message to the Italian PM Giorgia Meloni, accused by the demonstrators of siding with Israel. During the demonstration, there were also clashes with the police, and the images were promptly reported by the Qatari broadcaster al-Jazeera, with the title: “Italian police attempt to disperse a pro-Palestine demonstration in Milan”, perhaps to add fuel to the fire. Qatar’s support for Hamas and the Islamists in Europe is no secret after all.

The Ministry of Interior’s public order approach regarding these demonstrations, which can be summarized in a “let them vent” approach to “avoid social tensions”, has proven to be a failure as it led to blacklists, calls to mark the homes of “Jews and Zionists,” parades with signs portraying “Zionist agents,” defacing of Jewish elementary schools, pro-Hamas and antisemitic sermons in mosques, and the publication of antisemitic caricatures, and Hezbollah flags being displayed.

Last summer, the Italian “New Communist Party” (NCP), a far-left clandestine group mostly based in central western Italy which sides with other far-left and Palestinian factions present at yesterday’s demonstration, published a long blacklist of “Zionist agents and supporters” that included a consistent number of rabbis, members of Jewish associations, and even holocaust survivor Liliana Segre, a 94-year-old lady who is also a Senator of the Italian Parliament and who has been a frequent target of antisemites. The list also included prominent Italian MPs from both the majority and the opposition; ministers of the Meloni government, and a former ambassador.

The Italian NCP also called for the overthrow of the democratically elected Italian government and the establishment of a Communist regime defined as a “popular block”. Believe it or not, the Italian NPC is so “clandestine” that it even runs its own website, accessible to all, where it shares its subversive propaganda every week, including the list of “Zionist agents”. The NCP prides itself on being untraceable and provides ways to anonymously contact its militants. Strangely enough, the website is still running and no measures have so far been taken by the Italian authorities against this subversive group. Why?

An interesting overview, considering that in Milan, on January 27^th 2024, during the International Holocaust Remembrance Day, Italian student Mihael Melnic displayed a sign from his apartment window reading “Free Gaza from Hamas.” At the same time, the street below had become the scene of yet another unauthorized pro-Palestinian demonstration. Melnic, subjected to insults and threats by protesters, immediately received an intimidating visit from two police officers. They entered his apartment, identified him, and unsuccessfully tried to confiscate his sign. Melnic later gave an interview to The Times of Israel recounting the incident.

In Padua, Israeli student Jasmine Kolodro was summoned to the police station for displaying an Israeli flag near a pro-Palestinian demonstration.

The consequences of such a reluctant approach were indeed predictable since, when extremists do not see a response from the institutions, they continue to raise stakes, and that’s exactly what is happening. Therefore, what are the Ministry of Interior and the Meloni government waiting for to take action? Extremist narrative is a serious threat because it is the ideological “fuel” that leads to violence. What Italy is witnessing is a serious subversive and antisemitic drift, which has also been confirmed by the latest report by the Italian Antisemitism Observatory which indicated “a very strong growth (of antisemitic episodes) in absolute terms and percentage terms”.

Continuing in this direction, with such a reluctance to intervene, sooner or later something ugly will happen and at that point no one at the Ministry of Interior will be able to say “we didn’t expect it”, because the signs were all there, clear and obvious.

And one final question: who pays for all this? Who pays for the transportation, the flags and everything else needed for these demonstrations? Many of the demonstrators were in fact transported from other parts of Italy. Demonstrating costs money and requires funds.