UN Official Francesca Albanese Faces U.S. Backlash After Exposing Israeli Occupation, Genocide

The harsh sanctions imposed by Washington on Francesca Albanese, the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Palestine, have cast a revealing light on America's complicity in the Gaza genocide—and on those who dare to expose it. 

By adding her to its list of persona non grata, the U.S. has made its message unmistakably clear.

The move by the Trump administration against the international human rights lawyer, whose reports since her appointment in 2022 have consistently documented Washington’s enabling role in “Israel’s” war on Gaza, appears driven by two motives: to punish dissent and to silence an inconvenient truth.

First, Albanese laid bare the war crimes jointly committed by the U.S. and “Israel”—ranging from supplying the machinery of death and directly abetting atrocities, to profiting from the carnage in Gaza. 

She then called on the International Criminal Court to hold both states accountable.

Second, her report titled "From Economy of Occupation to Economy of Genocide," presented during the 59th session of the Human Rights Council (June 16–July 11, 2025), exposed how American and Israeli corporations have exploited the bloodshed in Gaza to build a profit-driven “genocide economy”—with the complicity of global firms.

Hornet's Nest

In her damning and data-rich report, the UN Special Rapporteur meticulously detailed how “Israel’s” war economy has shifted from one of occupation to one of outright genocide, propped up by a vast, interconnected web of corporations and global investors, with American firms playing a particularly prominent role.

Albanese called for accountability—not just for states, but for the U.S.-based and international companies, along with their executives, who have knowingly colluded with “Israel” and profited handsomely from the forced displacement and mass killing of Palestinians.

It was this bold conclusion that triggered the Trump administration’s aggressive response. 

In the final section of her report, Albanese urged the International Criminal Court in The Hague to pursue legal action against U.S. corporations, their executives, and officials in both the American and Israeli governments—naming names, and demanding justice.

In doing so, she had, in her own words, “It looks like I’ve hit a nerve.” The sanctions that swiftly followed were as severe as they were political.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, in a statement justifying the measures, accused “Albanese's campaign of political and economic warfare against the United States and Israel will no longer be tolerated.”

“Today I am imposing sanctions on UN Human Rights Council Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese for her illegitimate and shameful efforts to prompt (ICC) action against U.S. and Israeli officials, companies, and executives,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio wrote on X.

Albanese responded by shedding light on what she described as the reason I’ve been subjected to years of torment and absurdly outrageous accusations—among them, claims that she poses a “threat to the existence of Israel,” the United States, and even the “global economy,” referencing a legal analysis by Professor Nimer Sultany.

Sultany argued that Albanese is being vilified, targeted, and punished not for any wrongdoing, but for the precision and clarity of her reports on self-determination, the prison system, children’s rights, genocide, and corporate complicity. He called for her work to be studied, not silenced.

In September 2022, Albanese spoke out against “the violations and nature of the Israeli occupation,” describing it as a “racist, discriminatory, and repressive regime designed to deny the Palestinian people their right to self-determination.”

By March 2024, her findings had grown more urgent. She documented what she termed the “Israeli genocide” against Palestinians in Gaza, calling it an escalatory phase in a settler-colonial erasure spanning over seven decades, one that has systematically suffocated the Palestinian people.

Albanese implicitly described the U.S. sanctions as a form of bullying power, punishing those who speak for the powerless. 

“The powerful punishing those who speak for the powerless, it is not a sign of strength, but of guilt.”

“All eyes must remain on Gaza, where children are dying of starvation in their mothers’ arms, while their fathers and siblings are bombed into pieces while searching for food,” Albanese said. “My concern is people are dying in Gaza while you and I are speaking, and the United Nations is unable to intervene.”

Speaking to Reuters on July 11, 2025, Albanese confirmed she is now facing asset freezes and possible travel restrictions under the U.S. sanctions regime.

“There are no red lines anymore [...] It’s scary.” Albanese said. “It might block me from moving around. It will have a chilling effect on people normally engaging with me because for American citizens or for green card holders, this is going to be extremely problematic.”

She warned that the U.S. decision sets a dangerous precedent for human rights defenders across the globe.

In response to the sanctions, UN Human Rights Council President Jurg Lauber issued a pointed statement on July 11, 2025, calling on all UN member states to “refrain from any acts of intimidation or retaliation” against UN experts—a clear rebuke directed at Washington.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk urged the United States to lift the sanctions imposed on Albanese.

Meanwhile, UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric condemned the move, stating that the use of sanctions against any UN official sets “a dangerous precedent” and is “simply unacceptable.”

Exposing the Profiteers

In her official capacity, Albanese has meticulously documented Israeli violations of international law since the onset of the Gaza war in October 2023, producing a series of reports that have infuriated both Washington and the Israeli occupation.

Yet it was her latest report—directly accusing the United States, its corporations, and officials, and calling for their referral to the International Criminal Court over their role in the Gaza genocide—that laid bare America’s complicity in an unprecedented and unflinching manner.

In her report, Albanese named American and European corporations profiting from the genocide in Gaza, detailing their activities—from arms manufacturers to bulldozer and heavy machinery companies, tech firms, banks, financial institutions, and investment funds.

She identified 48 corporate actors, spanning weapons producers to financial firms, accused of profiteering through their collaboration with the Israeli government in executing the genocide, according to Politico on July 9, 2025.

Moreover, Albanese revealed that over 1,000 global companies—most American and many backed by Trump-era billionaires—are directly implicated in sustaining the ongoing genocide in Gaza, a fact meticulously documented in a report by the Organization for the Prevention of Armed Violence.

The report not only exposes the depth of American and international complicity but also reveals how ostensibly neutral economic institutions are entangled in the machinery of death, contributing to the financing, marketing, production, and normalization of the genocide in Palestine.

Far from merely documenting atrocities, the report lays bare their colonial dimensions, focusing on the dominance of what it terms “racial colonial capitalism,” where economic interests intertwine with colonial and racist structures. 

It underscores that this is precisely the system underpinning the Israeli occupation of Gaza.

The report described the “Israeli settler-colonial project” as a living example of this racial colonial capitalist model, where tools of displacement, replacement, and spatial control are woven into an exploitative economic logic driven by multinational corporations, banks, investment funds, and academic institutions.

It detailed how the economic dimension of one of the deadliest wars of our time reflects a “genocide economy” managed by the Israeli occupation in the Palestinian territories, with global corporations complicit in profiting from the carnage.

The report characterizes the “Israeli settler-colonial project” as a vivid embodiment of this racial colonial capitalist framework, where mechanisms of displacement, demographic engineering, and spatial domination are embedded within an exploitative economic system propelled by multinational corporations, financial institutions, investment funds, and academic bodies.

It reveals how the economic facet of one of the most lethal conflicts of the modern era constitutes a “genocide economy,” orchestrated by the Israeli occupation in the Palestinian territories, with international corporations complicit in reaping profits from the devastation.

The Involvement of the Giants

Albanese’s report exposes the pivotal role major tech companies play in bolstering “Israel’s” digital and military infrastructure, enhancing its capacity to wage war on Gaza while simultaneously generating substantial profits for global corporations and the occupying state.

The report details how firms like Google, Amazon, and Microsoft have supplied advanced tools for data management, targeting, and surveillance, reaping enormous financial gains despite “Israel’s” alleged grave violations of international law.

The list includes major tech giants such as Google (Alphabet), Amazon, Microsoft, Palantir, IBM, HP, and NSO Group.

These companies are accused of providing advanced surveillance tools, cloud services, and artificial intelligence technologies that are actively used in Israeli military operations.

The report also highlights the involvement of companies like IBM, HP, and NSO Group in developing biometric surveillance and espionage systems that have contributed to tightening control over Palestinians and entrenching the apartheid regime.

It further documents how the widespread destruction in Gaza and the ensuing humanitarian catastrophe have become a lucrative opportunity for Israeli and foreign arms manufacturers, who have directly profited from the ongoing war and genocide against the Palestinian people.

Elbit Systems and Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) have seen significant jumps in their annual profits, fueled by a 65 % surge in Israeli military spending between 2023 and 2024, which reached $46.5 billion.

Similarly, prominent American arms companies such as Lockheed Martin, Leonardo, Caterpillar, and HD Hyundai have profited from the genocide, with Israel benefiting notably from its involvement in the F-35 fighter jet program led by Lockheed Martin.

Alongside the pivotal roles played by tech and arms companies in driving the genocide economy, finance has been a key enabler. 

Despite the carnage wrought by “Israel,” a number of banks and investment firms have continued to back the Israeli economy.

According to Albanese’s report, the Norwegian sovereign wealth fund increased its investments in Israeli companies by 32 % following the Operation al-Aqsa Flood, reaching $1.9 billion, despite claims of adherence to ethical standards.

As the military budget deficit soared from 4.2% to 8.3%, the Israeli government turned to financing its massive war expenditure through the issuance of government bonds, exceeding $13 billion. 

These bonds were snapped up by some of the world’s largest banks, including BNP Paribas and Barclays, fueling what Albanese terms the “genocide economy.”

Major asset management firms—BlackRock, Vanguard, and Allianz—also purchased these bonds, investing $68 million, $546 million, and $960 million, respectively.

This drove a record 179 % surge in the share prices of companies listed on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, generating gains for “Israel” totaling $157.9 billion, according to Albanese’s report.

Bulldozer manufacturers have also been implicated in the genocide economy, with multi-million-dollar contracts awarded to firms like American giant Caterpillar, accused of supplying equipment used to demolish and storm hospitals and homes, and bury the wounded alive, the report alleges.

Swedish company Volvo, alongside South Korean firms Hyundai and Doosan, were similarly implicated, providing heavy machinery deployed in the destruction of Gaza, where over 70 % of buildings and 95 % of agricultural land were devastated following October 2023, according to the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization.

The Nobel Spark

The U.S. sanctions against Albanese sparked a global outcry, with many calling for her to be honored rather than punished for exposing war criminals and the atrocities unfolding in Gaza. 

Activists and petitioners have urged that she be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize—an honor they argue is far more deserved than for Donald Trump, who has reportedly leveraged allies and loyalist leaders to secure the accolade.

Campaigners are now calling for Albanese to receive the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize, alongside the doctors who continue to provide medical care under relentless bombing and blockade in Gaza.

Critics have long argued that the Nobel Prize is politicized and biased in favor of Zionism, yet the call to award the prize to the UN rapporteur is intended precisely to challenge and embarrass them—placing them face-to-face with a figure who embodies the very peace the prize claims to represent.

They pointed out that the U.S. retaliation and crackdown on Albanese form part of a broader pattern of repression—tightening the noose on activists and detaining any European or American citizen who openly expresses solidarity with Palestinians.

They emphasized that Albanese, the Italian intellectual with multiple advanced degrees in law and human rights, and a seasoned activist and expert, is being punished for exposing the hypocrisy of the U.S. and the West in their handling of the genocide in Gaza.

In multiple UN reports, Albanese has called not only for the prosecution of prominent Israeli figures implicated in these crimes—most notably Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu—but also for holding accountable American officials and corporate executives complicit in supporting the genocide as a profit-driven enterprise.

These demands have fueled a widespread online petition nominating her for the Nobel Peace Prize, which has garnered close to 500,000 signatures—its target goal.

Backing her Nobel bid are European lawmakers, including Slovenian MEP Matjaz Nemec, who declared that “many politicians in Europe and the United States—unlike Albanese—are complicit in genocide through their silence.”