(Adnkronos) – The views of United Nations special rapporteur for the occupied Palestinian territories, Francesca Albanese – who is accused of calling Israel “a common enemy of humanity” – are not shared by Italy’s government and are “incompatible” with her role, according to foreign minister Antonio Tajani.
“Francesca Albanese’s stance in her role as UN Special Rapporteur do not reflect that of the Italian government,” Tajani wrote on X late Thursday.
“Her behaviour, statements, and initiatives are inappropriate for the position she holds within a body of peace and a guarantor such as the United Nations,” the post added.
Permanent UN Security Council member France, Italy, Austria and Germany have demanded Albanese’s resignation after comments she made to a forum in Doha last weekend organised by Qatari broadcaster Al-Jazeera, which Albanese claims were misinterpreted.
In a video address to the forum, since posted by Albanese to social media, she criticised what she described as the international community’s complicity in Israel’s war in Gaza and referred to a “common enemy of humanity”.
“The common enemy of humanity is the system that has enabled the genocide in Palestine, including the financial capital that funds it, the algorithms that obscure it and the weapons that enable it,” she states in the video.
In an interview with public English-language broadcaster France 24 this week, Albanese slammed the recent accusations of anti-Semitism against her as “shameful and defamatory”, warning “the plan to fully destroy Gaza continues”.
