UN Special Rapporteur Denied Israeli Visa Due to Comments on Hamas Attack

The UN special rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories, Francesca Albanese, who has made no statement that the October 7 attack on Israel by the “Hamas” group was not anti-Semitic, will not be issued an Israeli visa, the Israeli foreign and interior ministers announced on Monday.

Albanese expressed last week that she does not agree with French President Emmanuel Macron’s judgment that the October 7 attack by “Hamas” was “the biggest anti-Semitic massacre of our century”.

“No,” Albanese said on platform X. “The victims of October 7 were not killed because of their Jewishness, but in response to the Israeli occupation.”

Israel’s Foreign Minister Isreal Katz and Interior Minister Moshe Arbel described Albanese’s remarks as terrible and assured her that she would be “denied entry into the State of Israel.”

The immigration services have been ordered not to issue a visa to Albanese, according to the ministerial statement, which also calls for her removal from office.

“If the UN wants to be a significant body again, its leaders must publicly distance themselves from the anti-Semitic words of the ‘Special Envoy’ and immediately remove her from office,” the statement said.

The fact that the Albanian will not be issued an Israeli visa will effectively mean that she will not be able to enter the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

“I will not be intimidated by those who are to blame for the continuation of the Nakba”, referring to the mass displacement of Palestinians in 1948 during the founding of Israel, Albanese later stated on the “X” platform.

Albanese also regretted that her response to Macron’s statements was interpreted as justifying the attack by “Hamas”.

She also reminded that she had condemned the attack several times.

“Explaining these crimes with anti-Semitism obscures their true causes,” explained Albanese, describing anti-Semitism as a global threat.

2024-02-12 21:51:34
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