United Nations’ special rapporteur for Palestinian territories Francesca Albanese says US sanctions against her a sign of ‘guilt’: “All eyes must remain on Gaza, where children are dying of starvation in their mothers’ arms, while their fathers and siblings are bombed into pieces while searching for food...”

 ... The US sanctions are the culmination of an extraordinary and sprawling campaign of nearly six months by the Trump administration [using “mafia-style intimidation techniques”]  to quell criticism of Israel’s handling of the deadly war in Gaza. Earlier this year, the Trump administration began arresting and deporting faculty and students of American universities who participated in pro-Palestinian demonstrations and other political activities.

UN special rapporteur Francesca Albanese says ‘it looks like I’ve hit a nerve’ after the US imposed sanctions on her amid her investigation of human rights abuses in the Palestinian territories. Photograph: Darko Bandić/AP

Francesca Albanese, the UN special rapporteur for the West Bank and Gaza, has responded to news that she will be sanctioned by the Trump administration with a post on X saying “the powerful punishing those who speak for the powerless, it is not a sign of strength, but of guilt”.

On Wednesday, as part of its effort to punish critics of Israel’s 21-month war in Gaza, the state department sanctioned Albanese, an independent official tasked with investigating human rights abuses in the Palestinian territories.

In two posts on Thursday, she wrote “Let’s stand tall, together” and urged international observers to focus on the crisis inside Gaza.

“All eyes must remain on Gaza, where children are dying of starvation in their mothers’ arms, while their fathers and siblings are bombed into pieces while searching for food,” she wrote.... READ MORE https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/jul/11/francesca-albanese-un-gaza-investigator-us-sanctions-guilt

  [AS ALWAYS PLEASE GO TO THE LINK TO READ GOOD ARTICLES (or quotes) IN FULL: HELP SHAPE ALGORITHMS (and conversations) THAT EMPOWER DECENCY, DIGNITY, JUSTICE & PEACE... and hopefully Palestine, or at least fair and just laws and policies] 

US issues sanctions against Francesca Albanese, UN official investigating abuses in Gaza