Francesca Albanese: Trump Administration imposes sanctions on top United Nations Palestine advocate
The Trump Administration has imposed sanctions on Francesca Albanese, one of the United Nations’ leading advocates for Palestinian rights, accusing her of “spewing abashed anti-antisemitism.”
The announcement came from US Secretary of State Marco Rubio as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu continued a multi-day visit to Washington, where he held meetings with senior Republican officials.
Ms Albanese, a human rights lawyer, serves as the UN Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories, an independent position tasked with investigating and reporting on human rights conditions in the region.
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By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.She has been highly critical of Israel’s conduct in Gaza, frequently referring to the ongoing war as a “genocide”.
In a report last week, she called for other countries to impose an arms embargo on Israel and accused US defence companies of profiting from the “lucrative” conflict, according to The Australian.
This week, Ms Albanese has campaigned for Italy, France and Greece to close their airspace as Mr Netanyahu flew to the US, noting his outstanding arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court.
Mr Rubio said Ms Albanese would be sanctioned for her “biased and malicious activities”.
“Albanese has spewed unabashed antisemitism, expressed support for terrorism, and open contempt for the United States, Israel, and the West,” he said in a new statement.
“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 Defense 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.”
The Trump Administration had previously sanctioned International Criminal Court judges and prosecutors, including British lawyer Karim Khan, who issued the initial arrest warrant for Mr Netanyahu.
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