The UN's special rapporteur on the Palestinian territories Francesca Albanese received approximately $20,000 from pro-Hamas groups to fund trips to Australia and New Zealand in late 2023 — shortly after Hamas' October 7 massacre, according to a new UN Watch report obtained by Ynet. Albanese had claimed the trips were funded by the UN but evidence suggests otherwise.
Albanese’s appointment was extended just a month ago, despite objections from the U.S., Israel, Argentina, the Netherlands and Hungary. As a UN special rapporteur, she's expected to provide "objective and accurate information." In a social media post from November 2023, she said the UN paid for her Australia visit. In July 2024, she welcomed an investigation, claiming she had “nothing to hide.”
However, the report reveals that the trips were funded by several pro-Palestinian organizations, including Australian Friends of Palestine Association (AFPA), Free Palestine Melbourne, Palestinians in Aotearoa, Australia Palestine Advocacy Network (APAN) and Palestinian Christians in Australia.
AFPA openly announced on its website that it had sponsored her visit. It also published a video showing a woman reading the will of former Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar. The reading was praised as “poetic and very moving” in Arabic.
Sinwar's will rejected any negotiations with Israel, urged loyalty to the “blood of martyrs,” rejected diplomacy and called for continued armed resistance.
APAN, another sponsor, is led by Nasser Mashni, who, according to The Herald Sun, has praised Palestinian terrorists, including Iyad Kamamji, who murdered Israeli teenager Eliyahu Asheri in 2006.
Mashni himself was convicted of kidnapping and threats in 1991. Sky News reported that a children’s charity Mashni manages funnels money to terrorists in Gaza. Hosts of Albanese’s New Zealand events described Hamas’ attack as “a jailbreak” and said it was “understandable.”
After UN Watch filed a complaint, the UN Secretariat referred the matter to the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council — a panel composed of Albanese’s close allies. One member of the panel, a South African envoy for health issues, had previously called Israel “hell,” supported the slogan “from the river to the sea Palestine will be free” and referred to Israelis as “savages, evil, deserving of hell on Earth,” and “bloodthirsty genocidaires.”
Ironically, the panel acknowledged Albanese had lied about her funding sources — but still renewed her mandate. It also found that she had violated UN ethical guidelines by making antisemitic remarks online and misusing research assistants. For instance, she bypassed a direct funding ban by submitting a payment request through Erasmus University Rotterdam, where her assistant was employed.
Despite these findings, the UN defended her, claiming Albanese “doesn’t hate Jews.” Her renewed term comes despite her support for comparing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Adolf Hitler, claiming the U.S. is controlled by Jews and labeling Israel an apartheid state.
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She also cast doubt on evidence that Hamas committed sexual violence during the October 7 attack — even after UN official Pramila Patten visited Israel and confirmed that the terror group had committed sexual crimes against Israeli hostages and civilians.
Albanese and her husband, Massimiliano Cali, have publicly called for the destruction of Israel. She also failed to disclose that Cali previously worked for the Palestinian Authority as an economic adviser.
“Albanese compounded her misconduct — accepting funding from Hamas-linked groups and lying about it by claiming the UN paid for her trip,” UN Watch head Hillel Neuer said.
“She continues to abuse her UN post daily, spreading antisemitism and Hamas propaganda through social media, TV appearances and false reports. Every day she remains in office damages the integrity of the UN Human Rights Council and the UN as a whole.”