Francesca Albanese, United Nations Special Rapporteur for the Palestinian territories in Geneva, during a press conference in Geneva, March 27, 2024. (Credit: Fabrice Coffrini/AFP)
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Wednesday that the United States is considering imposing sanctions on Francesca Albanese, the United Nations special rapporteur for the Palestinian territories, over her calls for the International Criminal Court to act against U.S. and Israeli leaders and companies.
In a post on X, Rubio condemned Albanese’s “illegitimate and shameful efforts” to “encourage the International Criminal Court [ICC] to take steps against U.S. and Israeli officials, businesses and leaders.”
“Francesca Albanese’s campaign of political and economic warfare against the United States and Israel will no longer be tolerated,” he wrote. “We will always stand with our partners in their right to self-defense. The United States will take whatever measures we deem necessary to respond to this lawfare and protect our sovereignty as well as that of our allies.”
No sanctions have yet been formally imposed.
‘Economy of genocide’
The warning follows a report published June 30 by Albanese, an Italian jurist, accusing more than 60 foreign companies and financial entities — including Google, Amazon and Microsoft — of being “financially linked to Israeli apartheid and militarism.”
Titled “From the Economy of Occupation to the Economy of Genocide,” the 27-page report was submitted to the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva. In it, Albanese outlines what she calls the complicity of corporations and financial institutions in facilitating Israel’s policies toward Palestinians, arguing they are helping drive a system of “displacement and replacement.”
Among the companies listed are U.S. defense contractor Lockheed Martin, technology firms like Palantir and IBM, and financial institutions such as France’s BNP Paribas. The report alleges that profit motives have turned the Palestinian territories into a “testing ground” for weapons and surveillance technologies.
Israel’s U.N. mission in Geneva dismissed the report, accusing Albanese of pursuing an “obsessive and hateful agenda to delegitimize the State of Israel.”
According to Gaza’s Health Ministry, more than 57,680 people — mostly civilians — have been killed in Israeli military operations in the enclave since the start of the war.
ICC targeted
Rubio also criticized Albanese’s reported cooperation with the ICC, where she allegedly urged prosecutors to pursue charges against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. “She collaborated with the ICC with the aim of prosecuting U.S. or Israeli nationals,” he said, calling the move “blatantly politicized.”
U.S. officials have long accused Albanese of bias, claiming she is “unfit” for her U.N. role and citing what they describe as “openly antisemitic rhetoric,” “support for terrorism,” and “avowed contempt for the United States, Israel and the West.”
On June 5, Washington sanctioned four ICC judges, saying the court's cases against American soldiers and Israeli officials were “illegitimate” and “politically motivated.” The Hague-based court condemned the move. Earlier, in February, the U.S. sanctioned ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan, who had launched an investigation into Israeli actions in Gaza. Khan has since stepped back from the case and is now under investigation for alleged misconduct.
