United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Palestinian Territories Francesca Albanese was sanctioned over her advocacy work [Getty]
The United States Treasury has removed Francesca Albanese from its sanctions list, a week after a federal judge blocked the measures imposed by the Trump administration over her advocacy for Palestinian rights and accountability for Israeli actions in Gaza.
The Treasury quietly published an update on its website, placing the UN special rapporteur under “International Criminal Court-related Designation Removal”, without offering further explanation.
The UN expert was sanctioned by the administration of US President Donald Trump in July 2025 after she pushed for the International Criminal Court to investigate Israeli and US officials and entities over alleged war crimes linked to Israel’s war on Gaza.
The sanctions effectively barred the Italian legal scholar from entering the United States and severely restricted her access to banking services there, in an unprecedented attempt to silence a UN official over criticism of Israel and US policy.
The reversal comes after US District Judge Richard Leon temporarily blocked the sanctions following a lawsuit filed by Albanese’s husband and daughter, who is a US citizen.
The judge found that the measures appeared to punish Albanese for her advocacy on Palestine and sought to regulate speech based on the “ideas or message expressed”.
Following the ruling, the US Office of Foreign Assets Control said it would halt implementation and enforcement of the sanctions, though the designation itself initially remained in place.
Albanese has been a vocal critic of US policy during the war on Gaza, accusing Washington of aiding Israel in committing genocide.
Most recently, Albanese, an Italian national, responded to Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s condemnation of far-right Israeli minister Itamar Ben-Gvir over the “unacceptable treatment” of detained Global Sumud flotilla activists, which sparked global outrage.
In a post on X, Meloni said Italy was working to secure the release of Italian citizens detained by Israel during their participation in a Gaza-bound flotilla aid convoy, which was intercepted on international waters.
Albanese welcomed the statement but urged Rome and the European Union to go further by suspending the EU-Israel Association Agreement over Israel’s actions against Palestinians and international activists.
