The United States is imposing sanctions on Italian jurist Francesca Albanese, the U.N. special rapporteur for the West Bank and Gaza, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced Wednesday evening.
The move was prompted by her “illegitimate and shameful efforts to prompt International Criminal Court action against US and Israeli officials, companies, and executives,” according to Rubio.
“Albanese’s campaign of political and economic warfare against the United States and Israel will no longer be tolerated. We will always stand by our partners in their right to self-defense," Rubio posted on the X platform in announcing the sanctions.
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Francesca Albanese, the U.N. special rapporteur for the West Bank and Gaza
(Photo: Fabrice Coffrini/ AFP)
Albanese has held her UN role since 2022, and her mandate was extended in April for another three years. She has previously accused Israel of being behind the Charlie Hebdo attack in Paris, compared Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israel to Hitler and the Nazis, and cast doubt on reports of rape committed during the October 7 Hamas massacre. On that same day, while the Hamas assault was still unfolding, she downplayed the atrocities by posting that "today’s violence must be seen in a broader context."
Since the October 7 massacre, Albanese has consistently blurred or denied the atrocities carried out by Hamas, refused to recognize it as the worst antisemitic attack since the Holocaust, and instead justified it as "a response to Israeli oppression." She also cast doubt on reports that Hamas committed sexual violence against Israeli women and minors—even after UN Under-Secretary-General Pramila Patten visited Israel and confirmed that Hamas had committed acts of sexual violence against hostages and civilians.
Additionally, a report published two months ago by UN Watch, an NGO that monitors the United Nations, revealed that Albanese had taken trips in late 2023, shortly after the massacre, funded by pro-Hamas organizations. According to the report, her trip to Australia was financed in part by groups such as the Australian Friends of Palestine Association, Free Palestine Melbourne, Palestinians in Aotearoa, the Australia Palestine Advocacy Network and Palestinian Christians in Australia. When asked about this, Albanese claimed the funding came from the UN.
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US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the sanctions
(Photo: Umit Bektas/Reuters)
This week, she faced renewed criticism over a UN report she authored last month that accused tech companies—such as Google and its parent company Alphabet—of profiting from what the report called a "genocide committed by Israel" in Gaza. The report cited these companies’ provision of cloud computing and AI technologies to the Israeli government and military. In response, Google co-founder Sergey Brin harshly criticized the UN, calling it an "antisemitic organization."
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On Wednesday, amid Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu’s visit to Washington, Albanese posted on X that "the governments of Italy, France and Greece must explain why they provided airspace and safe passage to Netanyahu, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court, and whom they are obligated to arrest. Citizens of these countries deserve to know that any political action violating the international legal order weakens and endangers everyone."
Israel’s Ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon, praised Rubio’s decision, calling Albanese an “antisemitic ‘human rights activist.’” He said that her "relentless and one-sided campaign against Israel and the U.S. has long crossed the line from human rights advocacy into antisemitic propaganda. Albanese consistently undermines the credibility of the UN by spreading dangerous, false narratives that are completely detached from reality. We will not remain silent and will continue to expose the antisemitic forces operating under the UN’s cover.”