In an interview with the U.S. radio program Democracy Now, Francesca Albanese criticized the Trump administration's support for the Israeli Prime Minister, who has been charged with genocide at the International Criminal Court (ICC), saying:
"This administration is not sensitive to justice. It is more interested in injustice than in justice, because Benjamin Netanyahu—who is wanted by the ICC for war crimes and crimes against humanity—does not belong in Washington, D.C. He belongs in The Hague, or wherever he can be legally prosecuted."
Albanese, an Italian legal expert who was recently sanctioned by the U.S. State Department on the grounds of her "illegitimate and shameful efforts to push the ICC to take action against American and Israeli officials, companies, and executives," added:
"What horrifies me even more is that my own country—Italy—along with Greece and France, all of which are parties to the Rome Statute, allowed Netanyahu, who is under an international arrest warrant, to fly over their airspace on his way to Washington, D.C. This is unacceptable. They should not have granted him such privilege. He should have been arrested."
Regarding the profits made by dozens of companies from Israel’s war on Gaza or the expansion of illegal settlements in the West Bank, she said:
"This is nothing new. Economic actors—from weapons manufacturers to universities, banks, and pension funds—have long played a role in settler-colonial projects aimed at seizing land and resources from native populations for the benefit of others. We are talking about 500 years of settler colonialism, which has always involved genocide."
The UN Special Rapporteur also criticized countries that allowed Netanyahu’s plane to fly over their airspace en route to the United States, suggesting they may have violated their obligations under international law.
She further warned: “The genocide in Gaza will not stop—because it is profitable.”
Albanese, who has faced widespread attacks and backlash for highlighting Israel’s responsibility in grave crimes, raised the alarm in her latest report, stating:
"What is happening today in Gaza is not only the result of colonial violence, but also rooted in well-organized economic interests that systematically exploit this human catastrophe."