The Young Palestinians of Italy celebrate in Rome the October 7th massacre

On September 3^rd, 2024, the “Young Palestinians in Italy” association published a post on Instagram announcing a demonstration in Rome, on October 5^th, 2024, to celebrate the October 7^th massacre.

The post says:

“October 7, 2023 is the date of a revolution. After a year, the value of the Palestinian resistance operation and the battle of the “Al Aqsa Flood” is clear to the whole world.

On October 5, 2024, we will take to the streets of Rome for a national demonstration, to support the Palestinian people and their national liberation movement, to honor the over forty thousand martyrs of Gaza and its fighters who have been fighting relentlessly for a year, to honor all of Palestine that resists and rises up against the invader and his colonial state.”

This shameful message came just two days after the murder, in cold blood, of six hostages, six civilians, five Israelis and an American, shot at close range by ruthless terrorists like the ones praised in the post mentioned above.

The October 7^th massacre is the worst pogrom perpetrated against the Jews since the Shoah, but the Young Palestinians prefer to name it a “resistance operation”. They claim to “honor” those who kidnapped, murdered, mutilated, raped and they refer to them as “fighters”.

This is not surprising indeed, considering that just three days after the massacre, the leader of the Association of Palestinians in Italy (as well as of ABSPP, European for al Quds and an imam in Genoa), Mohammad Hannoun, defined the massacre as “self-defense”. The statement was made in an interview with the Italian State channel Rai 3.

Hannoun also glorified on Facebook Yahya Ayyash, Hamas’ notorious bombmaker active in the 1990s and Saleh al-Arouri, a senior Hamas leader in Lebanon who was killed by Israel in Beirut in a drone strike on January 2nd, 2024.

On March 30th, 2024, during a pro-Palestinian demonstration outside Milan’s Central Station. Hannoun, microphone in hand, concluded his speech inciting to turn all Israeli embassies into centers for Palestinian resistance. In July 2024, Hannoun praised Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades former commander.

The issue doesn’t end here, because there is also the case of Pakistani citizen Zulfiqar Khan, imam in a Bologna-based mosque, who praised Hamas on several occasions from the pulpit of his mosque and with videos and images posted on Facebook.

In May 2021, during a street speech in Bologna’s main square, “Piazza Maggiore”, Khan stated that:“…Jews are cruel and they use intelligence to harm others”.

In November 2023, during the Italian mainstream TV show “Dritto e Rovescio”, Khan stated: “The Israelites are terrorists and deceivers according to the Bible,” adding that “deception with the aim of self-interest is part of the Jewish faith.”

Hannoun is still preaching; Khan’s Facebook pages are still active and, unlike others who have been expelled for much less, he hasn’t.

The question is, what is the Italian government doing to contrast all this? Why is all this being allowed? We would have never expected such a non-action by a right-wing government.

It is worth recalling that Hamas is blacklisted as a terrorist organization by the European Union, just like ISIS and al-Qaeda. The Italian Ministry of Interior has been quick to intervene against ISIS supporters and we can well imagine what would have happened if the statements mentioned above were made in the name of the Islamic State.

So, why aren’t the same measures being applied against those who praise and glorify Hamas? Is Hamas any different from ISIS or al-Qaeda according to the Italian authorities?

Indeed, we do not want to believe that the answer is simply because “Hamas targets Israel and the Jews”. That cannot be the case. Firstly, because a terrorist organization is such for the method it uses to achieve its objectives, and not according to the cause it pursues. Secondly, Hamas targets Israelis and non-Israelis; Jews and non-Jews, as it did on October 7^th.

Therefore, the inaction seen in Italy so far is inexplicable. It is worth reminding that France and Germany have recently expelled imams for similar reasons. The impression is that, when the “Palestinian cause” is involved, then there is a double standard applied, and this is a problem.

The post published by the “Young Palestinians of Italy” is a glorification of terrorism and an insult to the victims; it’s something that should not be tolerated in a civil society.