UN launches investigation into its envoy accused of links with Hamas
After complaints lodged against UN envoy Francesca Albanese, most recently accusing her of links with terror groups, the United Nations has launched an official investigation.
The primary question at hand is whether Albanese, special rapporteur to Palestinian Territories, illegally received funds from groups that support Hamas to travel to Australia and New Zealand in her capacity as UN envoy.
According to the claims, Albanese allegedly received approximately $20,000 from a pro-Hamas organization in Australia that boasted about funding her trip. While there, she allegedly pressured pension groups to divest from Israel.
UN Watch has raised concerns about her suitability for the UN position, as well as a lack of neutrality. Last year, a bipartisan group of 18 U.S. Members of Congress demanded Albanese's removal after concluding that she “patently demonstrate[s] her strong bias against Israel.”
Albanese is co-founder of the Global Network on the Question of Palestine (GNQP) and has faced considerable criticism for her refusal to condemn Palestinian terror attacks against Israeli civilians. Her inflammatory language in the wake of Oct. 7 and her frequent use of antisemitic tropes in the past has added to concerns regarding her UN position.
“Her biased behaviors should have no place at the United Nations and clearly demonstrate the lack of impartiality,” stated the group of Congress members in their joint letter to the United Nations in February 2023.
“For an official tasked with serving as an independent, neutral and expert voice on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, her inexcusable silence against terrorism targeting Israelis, and her outrageous and prejudicial remarks, clearly reflect the irredeemable bias of her mandate,” the letter read.
The investigation represents the latest in a string of troubles plaguing the UN, as multiple accusations have been leveled at UNRWA workers, most notably by Hillel Neuer of UN Watch.
The UN Watchdog claims that many individuals operating within Gaza have been compromised by affiliation with terror groups, even being paid by Hamas.
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Jo Elizabeth has a great interest in politics and cultural developments, studying Social Policy for her first degree and gaining a Masters in Jewish Philosophy from Haifa University, but she loves to write about the Bible and its primary subject, the God of Israel. As a writer, Jo spends her time between the UK and Jerusalem, Israel.
