UN Probes Accusations of Envoy Funded by Hamas Supporters

July 3, 2024

by: Itamar Eichner ~ Ynetnews

Wednesday, 3 July 2024 | The UN has launched an investigation against Francesca Albanese, the organization’s Special Rapporteur on the Palestinian Territories responsible for issuing reports on the human rights situation in the area.

The probe aims to determine whether Albanese, who consistently accuses Israel of human rights violations, illegally received [US] $20,000 in funding from Hamas-supporting organizations to pay for her trip to Australia and New Zealand during which she pressured a local pension fund to divest from Israel.

Albanese claimed the UN paid for her trip to Australia, but a UN spokesperson refused to confirm her claim. A pro-Hamas Australian organization initially boasted it had “funded” the UN representative’s trip.

Albanese previously served as UNRWA’s [United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees] legal advisor and was the first to be condemned for anti-Semitism by France and Germany as a UN representative in charge of writing and filing human rights reports.

In 2022, Albanese was also condemned by the US Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism after it was revealed she had launched a fundraising appeal for UNRWA, claiming that “America is subjugated by the Jewish lobby.” Last year, a group of 18 lawmakers from both major US parties condemned Albanese’s refusal to denounce terrorism against Israelis.

The investigation, to be conducted by UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk, was initiated following a complaint filed in June by UN Watch, an independent NGO based in Geneva. The organization demanded Albanese be removed from the UN.

UN Watch Executive Director Hillel Neuer called on the UN Human Rights Council to remove Albanese from her position due to her financial misconduct and her repeated statements inciting anti-Semitism and justifying Hamas terrorism.

Posted on July 3, 2024

Source: (This article was originally published by Ynetnews on July 3, 2024. Time-related language has been modified to reflect our republication today. See original article at this link.)

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