UN should consider suspending Israel, says rapporteur

NEW YORK

A special U.N. rapporteur on the Palestinian territories has urged the suspension of Israel’s membership in the organization due to its continuing "genocide."

Francesca Albanese made her remarks during a session of a U.N. committee focused on the inalienable rights of Palestinians on Oct. 30, just a day after releasing a report accusing Israel of committing war crimes and genocide in Gaza.

"It is time to consider suspending the credentials of Israel as a member state of the U.N.," Albanese stated. She acknowledged the sensitivity surrounding the issue, emphasizing that many member states also have troubled human rights records.

Her report asserts that Israel has pursued a pattern of conduct "deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction." She highlighted that no other nation has defied as many U.N. resolutions for as long as Israel.

The rapporteur's statements came under fire from U.S. officials, particularly after she was barred from briefing Congress on the matter.

Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the American ambassador to the bloc, condemned Albanese in a tweet, calling her “unfit for office” and asserting that the U.N. should not tolerate antisemitism from its representatives.

In response to the backlash, Albanese defended her use of the term “genocide,” stating that while Palestinians have long faced war crimes, the current situation represents a distinct crisis.

"It is very important to understand why this is recognized as a genocide," she said.

Her report contends that the focus should not only be on mass killings but on a broader range of acts, including starvation, torture and forced displacement, which together may demonstrate genocidal intent.

"Genocide is not a crime only of mass killing," Albanese noted, referencing the legal definition that includes the forcible transfer of children from one group to another.

Meanwhile, Israel's U.N. ambassador called for the resignation of Albanase, who has also denounced the "eradication of Palestinians" from their land.

"Once again, the U.N. has rolled out the red carpet for one of the most anti-Semitic figures in modern history, granting her a stage to spew baseless propaganda and lies," Danny Danon wrote on X.

"Your presence at the U.N. is a disgrace, a betrayal of all moral standards. Resign immediately. Leave your credentials at the door and join your friends at Hamas and Hezbollah, where you belong."

Albanese has previously said the offensive Israel unleashed after last year's Hamas attacks was "part of a long-term international, systematic state-organised forced displacement and replacement of the Palestinians."

U.N. special rapporteurs are independent experts appointed by the Human Rights Council. They do not speak on behalf of the United Nations itself.

Albanese also defended herself at a press conference Wednesday.

"I really don't feel comfortable at entertaining any longer discussions concerning the attacks against me, because it's not about me, and I'm not the story. The story is the fact that there are Palestinians who risk to be erased from their land," she said.

She called the United States an "enabler in what Israel has been doing."

Israel's long-thorny relationship with the U.N. has also worsened since the Gaza war started.