U.S. Reimposes Sanctions on U.N. Expert Who Has Criticized Israel

The United States on Wednesday reinstated sanctions against Francesca Albanese, the United Nations special rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories, after a federal appeals court issued an administrative stay that effectively overturned a prior order barring the penalties.

A notice posted on the Treasury Department’s website confirmed that Albanese had been re-designated under a sanctions program that freezes her assets globally, bars her from using major credit cards, and blocks most bank transactions. The move marks the latest twist in a legal battle that began last year when the Biden administration first blacklisted the Italian human rights lawyer.

Albanese, appointed by the U.N. Human Rights Council in 2022, has been one of the most vocal international critics of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, which began after Hamas-led attacks on October 7, 2023. She has repeatedly accused Israel of committing genocide — a charge Israel and the United States have strongly denied.

The Treasury Department’s decision came days after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit temporarily stayed a lower-court ruling that had blocked the sanctions. The lower court had sided with a lawsuit filed by Albanese’s husband, Massimiliano Calì, on behalf of their minor child, a U.S. citizen. The lawsuit argued that the sanctions unfairly harmed the family and violated due process. The appeals court is now weighing the merits of the case.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who announced the original sanctions in July 2025, accused Albanese of “spewing unabashed antisemitism, expressing support for terrorism, and showing open contempt for the United States, Israel, and the West.” Israel has echoed those accusations.

Albanese has consistently rejected allegations of antisemitism, maintaining that her criticism is directed at the policies of the Israeli government, not at Jewish people. She has also accused the United States of shielding Israel from accountability at the international level.

The reinstated sanctions have drawn sharp reactions from human rights groups and U.N. officials, who argue that targeting a special rapporteur undermines the independence of the U.N.’s human rights mechanisms. The case is being closely watched as a test of how far the U.S. can go in penalizing foreign officials whose statements conflict with American foreign policy.