GENOA — Italy's Supreme Court of Cassation ordered a comprehensive re-evaluation of the evidence in the case against Mohammad Hannoun, a Jordanian national arrested on suspicion of financing Hamas. Hannoun was arrested in Genoa on December 27 and Italian investigators stated that he leads an Italian cell of Hamas.

Prosecutors allege Hannoun raised approximately 7 million euros through the Association of Solidarity with the Palestinian People (ABSPP). The court characterized the evidence presented as generic and specified concerns regarding the admissibility and sourcing of intelligence from Israel. The evidence presented in the case included intelligence from Israel and open-source internet material.

Hannoun, a 63-year-old architect, was one of nine individuals arrested during Operation Domino. The files alleging cooperation between ABSPP and Hamas were transmitted without a documented chain of custody. The evidence files were identified as originating from Israeli intelligence official Avi Abramson. The evidence reportedly came from hard drives seized by Israeli forces from hospitals and refugee camps in Gaza.

Lawyer Nicola Canestrini represents Hannoun and eight other defendants. Canestrini argued in court that evidence collected by Israel is inadmissible due to ongoing proceedings against the country at the International Criminal Court and the International Court of Justice. Israel transmitted the documents via a spontaneous information exchange rather than standard international cooperation channels. This transmission method bypasses oversight mechanisms established by Eurojust and United Nations military evidence guidelines.

Canestrini said, "There is a short-circuit in the legal system that is very troublesome for the rule of law. We are seeing a foreign state under investigation for war crimes and crimes against humanity bringing evidence forward, and Italian authorities copying and pasting it in their reports." Canestrini said, "I believe this was done wilfully to avoid checks and balances that guarantee the respect of human rights."

Anas Mustapha, head of public advocacy at CAGE International, said, "Israeli intelligence is being laundered through European legal systems to suppress Palestinian civil society. The aim is to disrupt and restrict activism and action against the state of Israel." Di Sabato said, "In Italy, activities around Palestinian solidarity are increasingly equated with terrorism." Di Sabato added, "What today constitutes the basis for the repression of Palestinian activism could tomorrow be the basis for the repression of any form of dissent."

Di Sabato said, "Israel's aim was to have a free zone where everything is permitted. The political meaning of the Supreme Court of Cassation's ruling is that the rule of law cannot be suspended when we deal with Palestine." Human Rights Watch has stated that Israeli military actions in Gaza, including displacing hospital patients, amount to war crimes. The European Legal Support Center documented legal restrictions against Palestine solidarity campaigns in the U.K., Germany, the Netherlands, and France. Amin Abu Rashid was detained for one year prior to his acquittal, and the prosecution in his case relied on Israeli government reports and newspaper articles.