US issues sanctions against UN’s Francesca Albanese

The UN Special Rapporteur for the West Bank and Gaza campaigned for the governments of Italy, France and Greece to close their airspace to Benjamin Netanyahu as he flew to the US.

The US has imposed sanctions on Francesca Albanese, the UN special rapporteur for the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

Ms Albanese, an Italian legal scholar, has been a vehement critic of Israel’s conduct in Gaza, regularly describing the war as a “genocide”.

In a report last week, she urged other countries to impose an arms embargo on Israel, accusing US defence companies, including Lockheed Martin and Palantir, of profiting from the “lucrative” war.

This week, Ms Albanese, 48, campaigned for the governments of Italy, France and Greece to close their airspace to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as he flew to the US, citing his outstanding arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court.

Ms Albanese’s outspokenness on the conflict was condemned by the US last month when the White House urged UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres to fire her for her “virulent anti-Semitism”.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced on Wednesday that Ms Albanese would be sanctioned for her “biased and malicious activities”.

“Albanese has spewed unabashed anti-Semitism, expressed support for terrorism, and open contempt for the United States, Israel, and the West,” he said.

“That bias has been apparent across the span of her career, including recommending that the ICC, without a legitimate basis, issue arrest warrants targeting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defence minister Yoav Gallant.

“She has recently escalated this effort by writing threatening letters to dozens of entities worldwide, including major American companies across finance, technology, defence, energy, and hospitality, making extreme and unfounded accusations and recommending the ICC pursue investigations and prosecutions of these companies and their executives.

“We will not tolerate these campaigns of political and economic warfare, which threaten our national interests and sovereignty.”

President Donald Trump’s administration has already imposed sanctions on ICC judges and prosecutors including Karim Khan, the British lawyer who issued the original arrest warrant for Mr Netanyahu.

One of the most influential voices among pro-Palestinian activists, Ms Albanese was asked last year whether Israel had a right to exist.

“Israel does exist,” she said. “Israel is a recognised member of the United Nations … what is enshrined in international law is the right of a people to exist. So the state of Israel is there. It’s protected as a member of the United Nations. Does this justify the erasure of another people? Hell, no.”

The Times