Activists Call on UN To Fire Official Who Says Israel Does Not Have Right To Defend Itself
12th April 2023
A United Nations official tasked with overseeing an investigation into alleged Israeli war crimes publicly stated that the Jewish state does not have a right to defend itself against terrorism, leading to calls from international activists for the official to be fired.
Francesca Albanese, the U.N. special rapporteur for the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, claimed over the weekend that Israel’s efforts to combat a deadly wave of Palestinian terror strikes are unjustified, writing on Twitter, “Israel has a right to defend itself, but can’t claim it when it comes to the people it oppresses/whose lands it colonizes.”
Her comments come amid a deadly spurt of Palestinian violence that has killed several Israeli civilians and put the nation on high alert. Albanese, who is overseeing the United Nations’ investigation into alleged Israeli war crimes, is under fire from pro-Israel activists who accuse her of pushing her “relentless, systematic, and unhinged bias against Israel,” according to a letter sent Tuesday by the International Legal Forum (ILF). The forum, a group of more than 4,000 lawyers, is calling on the United Nations to fire Albanese for her “anti-Semitism and virulent bias.”