‘Malicious': US sanctions UN Palestine expert Francesca Albanese
Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the sanctions under an executive order signed by President Donald Trump in February that allows the government to target anyone deemed to have assisted the International Criminal Court against a citizen of the US or Israel.
'The United States has repeatedly condemned and objected to the biased and malicious activities of Albanese that have long made her unfit for service as a special rapporteur,' Rubio said.
'Albanese has spewed unabashed antisemitism, expressed support for terrorism, and open contempt for the United States, Israel, and the West.
'That bias has been apparent across the span of her career, including recommending that the ICC, without a legitimate basis, issue arrest warrants targeting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defence minister Yoav Gallant.'
The ICC issued the arrest warrants in November. Netanyahu is currently on a multi-day visit to Washington and met twice with Trump, along with other senior administration officials.
Albanese, who is no relation to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, has been a prominent critic of what she calls Israel's genocide in Gaza, and hardline Israeli activists had lobbied the Trump administration to sanction her.
Hillel Neuer, who runs a project called UN Watch, applauded the decision. 'You will never again spread your poison on American campuses or enter the country,' he said of Albanese. 'Justice is served. Good triumphs over evil.'
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