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<\/a><\/p>\nUN Special Rapporteur on Palestine Francesca Albanese holds a press conference at the lower house of the Italian Parliament, the Chamber of Deputies, to present her new report titled “Genocide in Gaza: A Collective Crime,” Feb 3, 2026. (Baris Seckin\/Anadolu via Getty Images)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Albanese, the U.N.\u2019s Palestinian rights envoy, is a vocal critic of Israel who has drawn sustained rebuke from multiple U.S. administrations over comments seen as veering sharply into antisemitic territory. Last year, the Trump administration formally sanctioned her, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio accusing her of \u201cvirulent antisemitism and support for terrorism.\u201d<\/p>\n
This time, speaking at the Al-Jazeera Forum in Doha last weekend, Albanese ignited rebuke from an array of world leaders when she suggested that Israel was \u201ca common enemy\u201d for all.<\/p>\n
\u201cInstead of stopping Israel, most of the world has armed, given Israel political excuses, political sheltering, economic and financial support,\u201d he said. She continued, \u201cWe who do not control large amounts of financial capital, algorithms and weapons \u2014 we now see that we as a humanity have a common enemy.\u201d<\/p>\n
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said the comments inappropriately targeted all Israelis instead of the Israeli government.<\/p>\n
\u201cFrance unreservedly condemns the outrageous and reprehensible remarks made by Francesca Albanese, which are directed not at the Israeli government, whose policies may be criticized, but at Israel as a people and as a nation, which is absolutely unacceptable,\u201d he told French lawmakers earlier this week.<\/p>\n
The German foreign minister, Johann Wadephul, added to the calls for resignation on Thursday. \u201cI respect the system of independent rapporteurs of the UN. However, Ms. Albanese has already repeatedly failed in the past,\u201d he tweeted. \u201cI condemn her recent statements about Israel. She is untenable in her position.\u201d<\/p>\n
And Ronald Lauder, president of the World Jewish Congress, called Albanese \u201ca dangerous figure who continues to use her position to promote discredited conspiracy theories, divisive and antisemitic narratives\u201d and said he would use his appearance at the Munich Security Conference, which begins Friday, to petition for her removal.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs I meet with leaders in Munich and in the weeks ahead, I will advocate for a clear moral line to be drawn,\u201d he said in a statement. \u201cIndividuals such as Ms. Albanese must be removed from the UN before more damage can be done to the Jewish people \u2014 and the institution\u2019s mission.\u201d<\/p>\n
Albanese has rejected the idea that her comments were antisemitic or inappropriate. On X, she said she had taken aim at \u201cTHE SYSTEM that has enabled the genocide in Palestine, including the financial capital that funds it, the algorithms that obscure it and the weapons that enable it,\u201d not Israelis.<\/p>\n
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