Israel declared that the UN Special Rapporteur for Palestinians, Francesca Albanese, is no longer allowed to enter the country.
In a statement by Israel’s Foreign Minister, Israel Katz, and Interior Minister, Moshe Arbel, they emphasized that the time when Jews remained silent has ended.
They called for the United Nations to distance itself from what they described as Albanese’s anti-Semitic comments and to terminate her position for the UN to maintain its significance.
Albanese is under scrutiny by Israeli authorities for her remarks on social media platform X, where she appeared to rationalize a cross-border assault by the Palestinian group Hamas on October 7.
She suggested in her post that the attack’s casualties were a consequence of Israel’s oppressive actions rather than their Jewish identity, contradicting French President Emmanuel Macron’s tribute to the Israeli victims of the Hamas assault.
This action against Albanese follows Israel’s previous revocation of the residence permit of UN Humanitarian Coordinator Lynn Hastings in December 2023.
The situation has escalated amid Israel’s extensive military actions in Gaza since the October 7 incident, which have resulted in significant casualties and widespread displacement within Gaza.
The conflict has inflicted severe damage on Gaza’s infrastructure and exacerbated the humanitarian crisis in the region. Additionally, South Africa has initiated legal proceedings against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), accusing it of violating the 1948 Genocide Convention.
In a preliminary decision, the ICJ found merit in South Africa’s allegations and issued provisional orders to Israel to cease any actions that could be construed as genocidal and to ensure the provision of humanitarian aid to Gaza’s civilian population.
