{"id":287065,"date":"2026-02-12T06:33:12","date_gmt":"2026-02-12T06:33:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/287065\/"},"modified":"2026-02-12T06:33:12","modified_gmt":"2026-02-12T06:33:12","slug":"france-calls-on-un-rapporteur-albanese-to-resign-over-common-enemy-israel-remarks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/287065\/","title":{"rendered":"France calls on UN rapporteur Albanese to resign over ‘common enemy’ Israel remarks"},"content":{"rendered":"

PARIS, France \u2014 France was calling for the resignation of the UN special rapporteur for the Palestinian territories over comments she made targeting Israel at a conference, the French foreign minister said on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

\u201cFrance unreservedly condemns the outrageous and reprehensible remarks made by Ms. Francesca Albanese, which are directed not at the Israeli government, whose policies may be criticized, but at Israel as a people and as a nation, which is absolutely unacceptable,\u201d Jean-Noel Barrot told French lawmakers.<\/p>\n

Speaking via videoconference at a forum Saturday in Doha, Qatar, organized by the Al Jazeera network, Albanese referred to a \u201ccommon enemy\u201d that enabled the \u201cgenocide\u201d in Gaza.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe fact that instead of stopping Israel, most of the world has armed [Israel], given Israel political excuses, political sheltering, [and] economic and financial support,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe who do not control large amounts of financial capital, algorithms, and weapons \u2014 we now see that we as a humanity have a common enemy,\u201d she continued.<\/p>\n

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On Wednesday, Albanese defended herself in an interview with TV channel France 24 that was recorded before Barrot\u2019s statement, denouncing what she called \u201ccompletely false accusations\u201d and \u201cmanipulation\u201d of her words.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have never, ever, ever said \u2018Israel is the common enemy of humanity,’\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Humanity has a \u201ccommon enemy\u201d in Israel, Francesca Albanese tells Qatar’s Al Jazeera forum pic.twitter.com\/l1wXNiS7yP<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Hillel Neuer (@HillelNeuer) February 8, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

But Barrot said Albanese\u2019s comments joined \u201ca long list of scandalous positions,\u201d accusing the Italian rights expert of \u201cjustifying\u201d the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led attacks against Israel and \u201ccomparing Israel to the Third Reich.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\u201cShe is a political activist who stirs up hate speech that does a disservice to the cause of the Palestinian people,\u201d he said, responding to a question from Carole Yadan, a lawmaker from the presidential camp.<\/p>\n

Yadan was among 20 other deputies who, a day earlier, warned Barrot in a letter that Albanese should be \u201cstripped of any UN mandate with immediate effect,\u201d following her remarks.<\/p>\n

France is one of the UN Security Council\u2019s five permanent members.<\/p>\n

UN Watch Director Hillel Neuer posted the clip of Albanese making the remarks during the al-Jazeera panel, commenting Sunday that \u201cshe casts the Jewish state as an ontological force corrupting humanity itself, dehumanizing Israelis to frame all violence against them as justified.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Lawfare Project, a pro-Israel legal group, in a Tuesday post to X wrote of Albanese, \u201cThis shocking statement exposes her deep-seated bias and confirms why she has been widely condemned for antisemitism and sanctioned by the United States.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\"\"<\/a>
\n\t\tUN Special Rapporteur on the Rights Situation in the Palestinian Territories Francesca Albanese attends a rally to denounce Israel over the war with Hamas in Gaza in Madrid, Spain, on June 23, 2025. (Thomas Coex\/AFP)<\/p>\n

Albanese has a history of antisemitism<\/a> and extremist rhetoric<\/a> toward Israel, according to her critics. She says she is a champion for Palestinian rights and an opponent of discrimination, including against Jews.<\/p>\n

The US State Department sanctioned Albanese<\/a> in July, accusing her of \u201cpolitical and economic warfare\u201d against the US and Israel and \u201cunabashed antisemitism.\u201d<\/p>\n

Special rapporteurs are independent, unpaid experts appointed by the UN. As a special rapporteur for the Palestinians, Albanese releases periodic investigative reports and is granted a platform and authority to promulgate her views on the conflict.<\/p>\n

Albanese has parlayed her UN position into celebrity status on the anti-Israel left and the right. She has more than one million followers on social media and often speaks at conferences and in media appearances.<\/p>\n


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