Francesca Albanese, the UN’s Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories, has been accused of promoting antisemitism and “winking at Hamas” by a member of the Italian Senate.
Ester Mieli, a senator with the ruling Brothers of Italy party, said Albanese “distorts her mandate” and “minimised the terror attack in a post on Oct 7”.
Albanese, who is herself Italian, has long been accused of anti-Israel activism and a lack of impartiality in her role as Special Rapporteur since being appointed to the position in 2022.
The United States placed sanctions on her – the first member of the UN to face such action – for what the Trump administration claimed was “unabashed antisemitism”. Albanese has denied accusations of antisemitism.
Earlier this week, the left-wing Greens and Left Alliance party alongside the Five Star Movement party hosted a press conference with Albanese, which Mieli compared to a “circus” that “humiliated this institution”.
Mieli, who is the granddaughter of a Holocaust survivor, listed numerous controversial statements attributed to Albanese.
“I could go on for hours,” Mieli said.
Hamas, Mieli said, “are terrorists, there are no other words for it, yet Albanese claims that terrorists ‘must be understood’ and that they are bringing about a ‘global revolution’.”
Mieli alleged that in August 8, 2025, Albanese said that Hamas must not only be thought of as “throat-cutters” but also as a group that won elections in Gaza.
She also claimed Albanese “minimised” the October 7 terror attack in a post on the same day.
Mieli went on to claim that the terrorists “themselves rely on Albanese’s work.
“I will draw only from a few of the many statements documented by UN Watch.
“On July 11, 2023, on the Hamas website SeraJ TV, a Hamas spokesperson praised the Rapporteur’s speech.
“On March 26, 2024 the Palestinian Information Centre website reported: Hamas stated that the declarations of Rapporteur Albanese constitute sufficient proof of what is happening [in Gaza].
“And again, on September 2, 2023 on the Telegram channel of Al-Aqsa TV, run by Hamas, an image was published with the following quote from a Hamas spokesperson: ‘We praise the position of Francesca Albanese in which she condemned the violations of the government regarding the severe occupation against our people’. These are real facts.”
Mieli concluded: “We warned you about Hannoun [the former president of the Palestinian Association in Italy who was one of nine people arrested by Italian authorities in December for allegedly raising money for Hamas], we are warning you about Albanese.”
Albanese has denied being antisemitic. She was approached for comment but did not provide any response to the allegations.
