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Francesca Albanese Was Sanctioned Because She Supports Terror — Not Because She Criticizes Israel
Francesca Albanese, UN special rapporteur on human rights in the Palestinian territories, attends a side event during the Human Rights Council at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, March 26, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Denis Balibouse
Francecsa Albanese, the UN Special Rapporteur on the “Occupied Palestinian Territories,” is not an international lawyer. She is, however, a biased terror justifier and supporter who denies Israel’s right to self defense. She continuously insists that the West hasn’t done enough to withdraw any kind of support or dealings with Israel, and spouts antisemitic rhetoric, while denying she is antisemitic.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced last Wednesday that the United States would finally sanction Albanese for her threat to US interests.
The Western media, however, took that to mean she was sanctioned for her criticism of Israel’s war on Hamas — claiming it was a continuation of the “war” on pro-Palestinian advocates, and an attempt to silence those who “looking into alleged crimes committed by Israel as the war in Gaza continues,” as stated by CNN.
Headlines from the likes of the BBC, CNN, Associated Press (AP), Bloomberg, and beyond downplay who she really is and the real threat she poses.
Except she isn’t just a “critic of Israel’s Gaza offensive,” is she, @BBCNews?
Francesca Albanese is one of the most vehement Israel haters operating within the international system & has been criticized for antisemitism by multiple countries.
But BBC prefers to downplay that. pic.twitter.com/QolwYqrwqM
— HonestReporting (@HonestReporting) July 10, 2025
The source? A wire article from the AP by Farnoush Amiri titled “US issues sanctions against UN investigator probing abuses in Gaza.”
Amiri editorializes, claiming that the US aims to “punish critics” of Israel’s war in Gaza.
For over a year, the media have ignored the violent and antisemitic nature of pro-Palestinian protests on college campuses in the US, and instead, painted these activists as peaceful demonstrators who advocate for equal rights for all people.
From Mahmoud Khalil to Mohsen Mahdawi, these are not just peaceful demonstrators exercising their right to freedom of speech and protest.
The @nytimes gave op-ed space to Columbia student Mohsen Mahdawi so he could pose as a peace-seeking “human rights activist.”
Left out? Court docs say he boasted about his “love” of “killing Jews.”
Apparently, some human rights don’t count. pic.twitter.com/cx3HytriCu
— HonestReporting (@HonestReporting) May 4, 2025
In Albanese’s case, she has said numerous times that resistance is acceptable “by any means, including armed struggle,” including at a Hamas conference in Gaza to a room filled with Hamas senior officials.
That time she spoke at a Hamas conference and told the crowd they have the “right to resist” Israelhttps://t.co/1nGILmzU7Q
— Eitan Fischberger (@EFischberger) April 4, 2025
So no, AP, this is not a campaign to silence criticism of Israel. It is a campaign to combat terror supporters, antisemites and threats to US interests, including Israel. This isn’t a statement on politics, it’s a statement on media transparency.
The Times took things a step further, using Albanese’s past comments to make their point. Reporter George Grylls describes a 2024 interview in which Albanese was asked whether she believed Israel has the right to exist. Her answer? Avoidant.
As for the Telegraph’s take? Well, apparently the evidence she has presented herself over the years isn’t enough. She is merely “accused” of “bias,” and again, sanctioned “over Israel criticism.”
As the media continue to reel from this exceptional move, it’s important to remind the world who Francesca Albanese is and what the US sanction actually stands for, because the media certainly won’t. UN Watch’s Executive Director Hillel Neuer said it best:
You justified the October 7 massacre as it was happening. Now the United States has made you the first purported UN official in history to be sanctioned. You will never again spread your poison on American campuses or enter the country. Justice is served. Good triumphs over evil. https://t.co/gNVIPaizRh
— Hillel Neuer (@HillelNeuer) July 9, 2025
The author is a contributor to HonestReporting, a Jerusalem-based media watchdog with a focus on antisemitism and anti-Israel bias — where a version of this article first appeared.
The post Francesca Albanese Was Sanctioned Because She Supports Terror — Not Because She Criticizes Israel first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.