UN expert urges countries to cut trade, financial ties with Israel
Francesca Albanese, the UN special rapporteur on human rights in the occupied Palestinian Territories, has called on countries to impose a full arms embargo as well as cut off trade and financial ties with Israel, which she alleged is waging a “genocidal campaign” in Gaza.
“Israel is responsible for one of the cruellest genocides in modern history,” Albanese said in a speech to the UN Human Rights Council.
The UN expert was presenting her latest report, which named more than 60 companies she accuses of being involved in supporting Israeli illegal settlements and military actions in Gaza.
“What I expose is not a list, it is a system, and that is to be addressed,” she told the council. “We must reverse the tide,” she added, calling for states to impose a full arms embargo, suspend all trade agreements and ensure companies face legal consequences for their involvement in violations of international law.
Israel’s diplomatic mission in Geneva earlier this week said Albanese’s latest report was “legally groundless, defamatory and a flagrant abuse of her office”. Its delegate was not present in the room in line with a new policy to disengage with the council, which Israel says has an anti-Semitic bias.
UN expert accuses Israel of weapon-testing in Gaza amid 85,000-tonne explosive devastation
As we just reported, UN expert Francesca Albanese has presented a report to the Human Rights Council. Here are key takeaways from her speech:
- Arms companies have turned near-record profits by equipping Israel with cutting-edge weaponry to unleash 85,000 tonnes of explosives – six times the power of Hiroshima – to destroy Gaza.
- The report also pointed to gains on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange since October 2023, describing a stark contrast: “One people enriched, one people erased.”
- Accusing Israel of using the war to “test new weapons, customized surveillance, lethal drones, [and] radar systems”, Albanese warned that Palestine’s defencelessness had made it “an ideal laboratory for the Israeli military-industrial complex”.
- She named 48 corporate actors, including arms manufacturers, banks, tech companies, energy giants, and academic institutions, alleging that they are directly linked to a broader “economy of occupation, sustaining the Israeli state’s actions”.
- “Weapons and data systems brutalize and surveil Palestinians,” she said. “Colonies spread – financed by banks and insurers, powered by fossil fuels, and normalized by tourism platforms, supermarket chains, and academic institutions.”
- Under international law, she said, even a minimal connection to this system carries clear responsibility. “There is a prima facie responsibility on every state and corporate entity to completely abstain from or end their relationships with this economy of occupation.”
- In a direct appeal to states, Albanese called for bold steps. “Member states must impose a full arms embargo on Israel, suspend all trade agreements and investment relations, and enforce accountability, ensuring that corporate entities face legal consequences for their involvement in serious violations of international law.”
