The Trump administration has sanctioned Francesca Albanese, the United Nations special rapporteur on human rights in the Palestinian territories, in a move that is viewed as part of a wider crackdown on Israeli critics of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza.
The State Department imposed the sanctions on Wednesday, following Albanese’s vociferous criticism of Israel’s conduct of the war and her calls for the application of international pressure, including sanctions, against Israel. Albanese is an Italian human rights lawyer who has charged Israel with genocide in Gaza charges that both the US and Israel have flatly rejected.
Albanese has also called on world governments to bring Israel to book and endorsed the International Criminal Court’s indictments of senior Israeli leaders, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. She also issued a report identifying major American corporations allegedly supporting Israel’s military campaign.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio justified the sanctions by saying: “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.”
The US mission to the UN had earlier demanded Albanese’s ouster, blaming her for “anti-Israel bias” and “virulent anti-Semitism.” In spite of heavy lobbying, the UN declined to remove her from her position.
The sanctions are part of a broader Trump administration push to crack down on criticism of Israel’s war in Gaza, which opened following Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attacks that killed approximately 1,200 in Israel. More than 57,000 Palestinians have since been reported killed by Gaza’s health ministry.
Earlier this year, U.S. officials started detaining and deporting pro-Palestinian protesters, including university staff and students.
In a recent post, Albanese declared: “We must stop this genocide. No one is safe until everyone is safe.”