The United Nations special rapporteur on human rights in the Palestinian territories, Italian lawyer Francesca Albanese, accused Israel of committing “genocide” and “ethnic cleansing” in Gaza while only criticizing in passing the mass atrocities of Hamas. She made the remarks last week at the National Press Club in Washington.
Albanese seemingly ignored the fact that Hamas’ slaughter of more than 1,300 civilians and taking hostage some 203 Israelis was the deadliest single day for the Jewish people since the Holocaust.
Citing legal scholars, and in apparent agreement with them, Albanese said Israel’s ongoing reprisals for the October 7 massacre can legally be defined as genocide.
“There are a number of authoritative scholars that have come out already warning about the risk of genocide. Genocidal statements have been issued throughout the year, and I took note of that because I was seriously alarmed by the heightened levels of verbal violence, dehumanizing of violence, because we have seen it elsewhere, and we all know what it means,” she told the audience at the Press Club.
When questioned by a reporter, Albanese denied she had accused Israel of genocide but did reiterate that Israel practices ethnic cleansing by removing Palestinians from their homes and historic lands.
During her speech, she also claimed that Israel’s response to the ISIS-like attack on civilians is not proportional.
Instead, Albanese accused Israel of “violating all international norms” in its Operation Iron Swords response to Hamas.
She also criticized European nations for suppressing pro-Palestinian protests notwithstanding the fact the Hamas is formally designated as a terrorist organization by most developed democracies.
Albanese also indicated she supported demonstration by Jewish Voice for Peace, a leftist group founded by Noam Chomsky, that ended up illegally occupying the Cannon House Office Building in Washington while she was talking at the National Press Club.
Jewish Voice for Peace supports the Boycott, Divestment and Sanction (BDS) movement against companies investing in Israel/Palestine. Its most high-profile supporter is ex-Pink Floyd member Roger Waters.
She also claimed Israel’s decision to enforce a total blockade of the Gaza Strip was tantamount to “intentional starvation, and that intentional starvation is a crime against humanity” of the some 2.3 million people living in the area almost the size of Washington, DC.
Shockingly, she even claimed Israel’s “brutal” response to Hamas is in the Jewish DNA, and that 18-year-old Israeli military conscripts are raised not to see Palestinians as people.
“There is a wonderful author who has studied how Palestinian are dehumanized in Israeli textbooks and in society. And she argues that this is a critical element allows the disconnect when an Israeli 18-year-old wears a uniform and goes to West Bank and the Gaza border. He or she doesn’t necessarily see children. They are raised thinking that Palestinians are the enemy, they want to kill them all, exterminate them all,” she said.
“I do think we need to recognize that is related to the Israeli and Jewish people that have been suffering, prosecution for centuries. There is a fear that is almost guilty to their DNA and this does not justify what is happening [in Gaza]. Those who do not have their flesh and blood in the situation have to able to advise and be grounded in wisdom and be even handed,” she said.
In fact, Israeli military conscripts loathe being sent on border duty in Gaza and the West Bank because of the thankless nature of the job. Ambitious Israelis compete for positions in the elite military units where they are unlikely to have any one-on-one dealings with Palestinians or Israeli settlers.
Western diplomats and Palestinians themselves criticized Albanese for not differentiating between the situations in the West Bank, which is ruled by an elected government – notwithstanding no new presidential elections since 2005 – and Gaza.
“Gaza is a criminal dictatorship run by Hamas since 2007. They have absolute control and tolerate no dissent,” said an Israeli-Arab corporate lawyer working in Tel Aviv, who wished to remain anonymous, fearing retaliation from extremists.
Calls for Albanese’s ouster
The Israeli government has long called for the removal of Albanese, claiming the southern Italian lawyer’s bias against Israel makes her unfit to carry out her duties to categorize real and alleged human rights in the West Bank and Gaza.
Switzerland’s ambassador to the United States, Jacques Pitteloud, said Albanese’s statements are completely unacceptable on all levels and that one cannot put the atrocities of Hamas and action by Israel on the same level and that nothing “justifies this kind of terroristic attack.”
Pitteloud also noted that Switzerland is the birthplace and keeper of the Geneva Conventions, the treaty that became the foundation of international humanitarian law and governs the rules of war.
Pitteloud’s statements are important not only for Switzerland’s neutrality but as the host country for United Nations’ High Commission of Human Rights, the Geneva-based organization that writes Albanese’s paycheck.
Farhan Aziz Haq, deputy spokesman for UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, said the UN does “not comment on the work of independent experts such as Ms Albanese.” It seems the UN itself is distancing itself from Albanese.
Albanese has sparked protest in the Jewish community of Australia for her planned talk to the National Press Club in Canberra as part of a fundraiser hosted by the Australian Palestine Advocacy Network (APAN), with tickets fetching between A$60 and A$120 (US$38-$76) a pop.
The October 18 luncheon speech by Albanese was hosted by the Arab Center, a Washington think-thank on Middle East issues, at no charge for attendees, including a staffer for Democratic congressman Shri Thanedar.