(AFP) – US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Wednesday announced Washington was sanctioning the United Nations special expert on the Palestinian territories, following her criticism of Washington policy on Gaza. “Today I am imposing sanctions on UN Human Rights Council Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese for her illegitimate and shameful efforts to prompt (International Criminal Court) action against US and Israeli officials, companies, and executives,” Rubio said on social media.
In a subsequent statement, he slammed the UN expert’s strident criticism of the United States and said she recommended to the ICC that arrest warrants be issued targeting Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Rubio also attacked her for “biased and malicious activities,” and accused her of having “spewed unabashed antisemitism (and) support for terrorism.” He said she escalated her contempt for the United States by writing “threatening letters” to several US companies, making what Rubio called unfounded accusations and recommending the ICC pursue prosecutions of the companies and their executives. “We will not tolerate these campaigns of political and economic warfare, which threaten our national interests and sovereignty,” Rubio said.
While Albanese was appointed by the UN Human Rights Council, she does not speak on behalf of the United Nations itself. The Italy-born expert released a damning report earlier this month denouncing companies she said “profited from the Israeli economy of illegal occupation, apartheid, and now genocide” in the occupied Palestinian territories. The report provoked a furious response from Israel, while some of the named companies also raised objections.
Albanese has leveled broadsides against the policies of Israel in Gaza, and of US President Donald Trump, particularly the plan he announced in February to take over the Gaza Strip and resettle its residents elsewhere. That proposal faced a rejection from Palestinians, Middle East leaders, and the United Nations. Albanese dismissed it as “utter nonsense” and an “international crime” that will sow panic. “It’s unlawful, immoral and… completely irresponsible because it will make the regional crisis even worse,” she said on February 5 during a visit to Copenhagen.
US ally Israel on Wednesday commended Rubio’s action against the rapporteur. “Albanese has consistently undermined the credibility of the UN Human Rights Council by promoting false narratives and pushing for illegitimate legal actions that ignore the realities on the ground,” Israel’s UN Ambassador Danny Danon said.
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