Hannoun case: Angela Lano (Infopal), I am not Hamas’ Italian mouthpiece

Milan, 4 January (LaPresse) – ‘I am under investigation but remain at liberty because, according to a 300-page indictment that summarises 2,000 pages written by Israeli intelligence and delivered by hand to Genoa, I am Hamas’ Italian mouthpiece.’ This is how journalist Angela Lano, director of the Infopal agency, explains in an interview with LaPresse the reasons that brought her under the scrutiny of the Genoa Public Prosecutor’s Office, as part of the investigation into alleged Italian funding of Hamas, which is said to be managed by Palestinian architect Mohammad Hannoun, in prison since 27 December. The operation led to the arrest of nine people, including Hannoun himself, after 17 searches carried out yesterday in various Italian cities: Genoa, Turin, Bergamo, Florence, Bologna, Monza and Brianza, Lodi and Sassuolo. “All this makes me laugh, if it weren’t so tragic. It’s ridiculous. Just browse through Infopal: we’ve been there for 20 years and, especially in the last two, we’ve written about deaths and injuries, injuries and deaths, a distressing tally of the genocide in Gaza. Then there are editorials, comments, news and things taken from various sites, always with sources. Of course, among the variety of sources, I have also included statements by Hamas, but that is because they are the ones who control and administer the Gaza Strip, just as I have also included the Popular Front and others.” On his relationship with Hannoun, Lano recalls: ‘I met Hannoun 25 years ago, when I was working with La Repubblica covering the Arab-Islamic world, and I interviewed him often throughout the year, so let’s say I’ve known him for a lifetime. I dedicated a chapter of my book Islam d’Italia to him. The chapter was entitled “The architect with Palestine in his heart”. I have known him for a long time. He is an architect, an intellectual, an activist who deals with humanitarian issues, i.e. bringing humanitarian aid to various refugee camps: medical supplies, medical devices, wheelchairs, food.” As for the hypothesis of cash being used to finance Hamas, the director of Infopal states: ‘All organisations, including Hannun’s, do not bring money or anything else to Hamas, but we must bear in mind that Hamas is the party that won the 2006 elections, which were democratic and monitored by international observers, including the UN. So, for better or worse, whether we like it or not, it is the political organisation that controls the municipalities of Gaza, and organisations that want to deal with humanitarian and diplomatic issues in the Gaza Strip have to deal with Hamas, whether they like it or not.” Returning to the Genoa Public Prosecutor’s file, Lano adds: “We are still a state governed by the rule of law, but do we accept that evidence, assuming it is genuine, has been extracted from people who have been tortured and raped with dogs? Because there is extensive documentation, including from Amnesty and humanitarian organisations, saying that Israel practises torture, and now there is an escalation of this practice, and we want to accept, according to our law, something extracted through rape? I ask this question,’ he concludes.