The United Nations’ special rapporteur for Palestinian territories, Francesca Albanese, on Tuesday urged nations to take "concrete actions" to stop what she described as "genocide" in Gaza, The Associated Press reported.
Speaking at a conference attended by delegates from 30 countries, Albanese, who is notorious for her anti-Israel bias, called for an immediate suspension of all state and private sector ties with Israel.
"Each state must immediately review and suspend all ties with the State of Israel ... and ensure its private sector does the same," Albanese stated. "The Israeli economy is structured to sustain the occupation that has now turned genocidal."
The two-day conference, co-chaired by Colombia and South Africa, included delegates from Spain, Ireland, and China. Israel has vehemently rejected the genocide allegations, calling them an "antisemitic blood libel."
The UNHRC recently extended Albanese’s term as special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the “Palestinian territories” for an additional three years, despite her continued anti-Israel statements and actions.
Albanese’s anti-Israel bias was first exposed in 2022, in the form of antisemitic posts she made on social media, in which she claimed that the “Jewish lobby” controls the US.
At the time, Albanese rejected arguments that the comments about the “Jewish lobby” were antisemitic and claimed they were “mischaracterized”, but her anti-Israel bias has continued to be exposed since.
Her criticism of Israel has grown since Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack in Israel. The attack, in which Hamas terrorists killed over 1,200 people and took 250 hostages, was described by Albanese as an act that must be viewed in “context” and as a response to Israeli “aggression.”
She has also in recent months accused Israel of genocide, likened the Government of Israel to the “Third Reich,” and compared Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Adolf Hitler.
Last week, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced sanctions against Albanese, naming her a “specially designated national,” and forbidding all US persons and companies from doing business with her.
Rubio said that Albanese “spewed unabashed antisemitism, expressed support for terrorism, and open contempt for the United States, Israel and the West,” citing her recommendations to the International Criminal Court to issue arrest warrants for Israeli leaders as evidence of her unfitness for her UN role.