Trump vs. the UN:
The Sanction Against Francesca Albanese
and the Business Behind the Genocide in Gaza
Pressenza

(July 12, 2025) — The decision by Donald Trump’s administration to sanction Francesca Albanese, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories, is not only an unprecedented political reprisal against an international official. It is also a direct attempt to delegitimize a report that thoroughly documents the genocide in Gaza, with hundreds of pieces of evidence and official Israeli statements.

The background is much darker: the Palestinian extermination has been turned into a multi-billion-dollar business where corporate, military, technological and media interests converge. This report documents the actors, mechanisms, and consequences of this global operation.

1. Alarming: An Unprecedented Sanction and the Rise of Global Authoritarianism

“Ms. Albanese is not investigating war crimes; she is promoting antisemitic theories disguised as reports,” declared U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on July 9, 2025, under direct instruction from President Donald Trump. That same day, the U.S. Department of the Treasury announced personal sanctions against UN Rapporteur Francesca Albanese, freezing her assets in the U.S., restricting her movements, and banning any collaboration with U.S. entities. The decision was executed while Benjamin Netanyahu was in Washington negotiating highly sensitive bilateral agreements.

This measure is unprecedented and extremely dangerous. For the first time in modern history, a world power sanctions a human rights rapporteur for fulfilling her mandate, setting a milestone in the instrumentalization of legal and financial tools. In the words of UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, “this is a direct threat to the multilateral system,” an affront that seeks to paralyze not only the work of a single investigator, but the international community’s ability to demand accountability itself. Most alarming is that this occurs at a historic moment of consolidation of global authoritarianism, where the instrumental use of legal and financial tools to silence critical voices has been normalized. In this case, it also adds a layer of total shielding for the crimes committed in Gaza, which are documented not only by Albanese but also by multiple independent committees and international bodies. This sanction sets a dire precedent: economic and political power used to punish the defense of International Humanitarian Law and human rights, exposing a worrying erosion of the norms that underpin global coexistence.

2. The Albanese Report: The Scaffolding of a Planned Genocide and Proof of Intent

Albanese’s report, officially titled “From the Economy of Occupation to the Economy of Genocide”, published before the UN Human Rights Council on June 18, 2025, compiles an overwhelming body of evidence supporting the accusation of genocide against the State of Israel in Gaza. This meticulously detailed report breaks down the machinery of annihilation and plunder. Its findings are organized into core pillars that demonstrate not only devastation but the deliberate architecture of catastrophe:

2.1. Genocidal Intent: Over 300 Inciting Statements
The report documents more than 300 statements by senior Israeli officials — ministers, military chiefs, spokespersons — across media, social networks, and official conferences, explicitly inciting extermination, justifying the total destruction of Gaza, or promoting radical dehumanization of Palestinians. Far from being incidental, these statements reveal a coherent rhetorical line that validates and normalizes extreme violence.

Notable for their explicit brutality and high-ranking nature:

* Yoav Gallant, Minister of Defense (October 2023): Although the exact phrase “Gaza must be reduced to ashes” was not found in public statements, Gallant did announce a “total siege” of Gaza, referring to Palestinians as “human animals,” instructing that “no electricity, no food, no water, no gas. Everything is closed.” This rhetoric set the tone for a systematic devastation campaign.
* Isaac Herzog, President of Israel (October 2023): While Herzog expressed regret over civilian casualties, his statement that “an entire nation is responsible” and the suggestion that “there are no innocent civilians in Gaza” for not rising against Hamas set a morally dangerous precedent by collectivizing blame and dehumanizing the civilian population.
* Itamar Ben-Gvir, Minister of National Security (October 2024): Though the report places his statement in 2023, the core of his rhetoric remains. Ben-Gvir has openly defended “emptying Gaza of Palestinians” and resettling Israeli settlers — a policy that effectively erases territory and population, underscoring the extremist drive behind operations.
* Amichai Eliyahu, Minister of Heritage (November 2023): Eliyahu has stirred controversy with calls to “bomb Gaza with a nuclear bomb” and claims that there are no “uninvolved civilians” in the Strip. Though no textual record was found of him saying women and children are “valid targets if they raise future terrorists,” his discourse reflects a justification of violence against civilians by demonizing future Palestinian generations — exposing a logic of cultural and demographic extermination.

2.2. Systematic Practices of Annihilation
Albanese’s report goes beyond rhetoric, detailing the material implementation of genocidal intent through concrete actions:

* Deliberate Use of Prohibited Weapons: Use of white phosphorus is documented, causing indiscriminate and persistent burns that devastate civilian areas.
* Attacks on Hospitals and Shelters: The report details systematic destruction of health infrastructure, attacks on hospitals, UN shelters, ambulances, and humanitarian convoys — actions labeled war crimes by the UN Commission. This strategy makes survival nearly impossible, denying basic aid amid brutal conflict.
* Total Siege: The report analyzes the complete blockade of food, water, medicine, and electricity, imposed from the beginning of the operation, condemning the population to famine and deliberate disease — a blatant violation of international humanitarian law and a war crime.

2.3. Humanitarian Devastation and the Destruction of Palestinian Life
The report emphasizes the scale of human catastrophe and the cultural and social annihilation of Gaza:

* Human Victims: Over 130,000 dead and missing are recorded from October 7, 2023, to the report’s publication (June 2025), including 34,000 children. This number, far exceeding prior estimates, is based on a recent study by a foreign university in collaboration with a Palestinian organization from the West Bank. The study, which has caused significant academic and human rights impact, includes confirmed deaths, those presumed buried under rubble — many disintegrated — and the missing. The figure underscores the catastrophe’s magnitude, still unassimilated by the world.
* Cultural and Infrastructural Annihilation: Targeted bombings of universities, historical archives, libraries, Islamic and Christian archaeological sites are documented. This is a direct attack on a people’s memory, identity, and future. The UN Commission reports that over 90% of educational buildings and more than half of religious and cultural sites have been destroyed. Over 80% of Gaza’s residential infrastructure is reduced to rubble, leaving most of the population homeless and without hope of return.

3. The Business of Genocide: Corporations Behind the War and the Instrumentalization of Capital

Behind Israel’s military apparatus lies a complex transnational corporate network that obscenely profits from and sustains the genocide, turning destruction into dividends. The Albanese report and independent sources (including Al-Haq, WhoProfits, and B’Tselem) identify various companies and conglomerates directly linked to the war effort and the perpetuation of occupation:

* Elbit Systems: Israel’s military giant, main supplier of drones, artillery, and surveillance systems used in Gaza. Its technology serves as the eye and arm executing many operations, backed by global capital investment anchoring it to the conflict.
* Intel Corporation: Maintains key facilities in Israel and has received tax benefits from the Israeli state, making it part of the occupation’s economic structure. While its direct role in genocidal acts is more indirect, its strong economic presence and state subsidies make it a pillar of the war-supporting Israeli economy.
* Google and Amazon: Through the controversial Project Nimbus, they provide cloud infrastructure and AI services to the Israeli government, including the Ministry of Defense. This cutting-edge technology provision is not neutral; it facilitates data processing, surveillance, and military operations — making these tech giants key components of Israel’s operational capacity in occupied territories.
* AXA Insurance: Accused of financing Israeli arms companies and investing in banks profiting from illegal settlements. Its role lies in capital provision that directly or indirectly sustains military operations and occupation infrastructure.
* Hewlett Packard (HP): Provides technology for the biometric control system (“Basel system”) in occupied territories. This is a key tool in movement oppression and territorial fragmentation.
* Caterpillar: Its armored bulldozers, especially the D9 models, are used by the Israeli army to demolish Palestinian homes, clear land for military operations, and build occupation infrastructure. Caterpillar’s role in property destruction and forced displacement is direct and well-documented.

Many of these corporations’ boards include executives with dual citizenship or strong ties to Zionist entities, revealing a disturbing convergence between military-industrial interests, political ideology, and state crime perpetration. The “business of genocide” is not a metaphor; it is an interconnected ecosystem of interests profiting from destruction.

4. International Shielding and the Offensive Against Truth: The Multilateral System’s Resistance

The sanction against Albanese is a desperate attempt to shield Israel from accountability. But beyond the rapporteur, this action reveals Washington’s and its allies’ palpable fear that the report could trigger international mechanisms dismantling the status quo of impunity.

* International Criminal Court (ICC): The report strengthens the evidentiary base for the ICC, under Prosecutor Karim Khan, to issue new arrest warrants against Israeli officials — and potentially against Americans involved in aiding crimes.
* Global South States: Several Global South nations are already considering adopting Albanese’s report as a legal basis for unilateral sanctions against Israeli entities or those complicit in the occupation and Gaza campaign.
* UN and Special Commission: Within the UN, a special independent investigation commission is being considered — with a broader mandate and executive powers — possibly moving beyond report collection to establishing direct responsibility.

This is why Trump reacts with sanctions: it’s not just about Francesca Albanese, but about preventing genocide documentation from translating into consequences, and keeping the war business profitable and unpunished. The sanction is a war act against truth — a clear signal that geopolitical power is willing to undermine international institutions to protect its allies and economic interests. This move reinforces the idea of a global authoritarian consolidation, where legal and financial tools are weaponized to silence dissent and shield crimes.

5. A Cornered Press: Historical Duty and the Urgency of the News Context

In this context of truth repression, the free press and alternative media networks bear an inescapable historical responsibility: to bring visibility, sustain fact-based narratives, and assertively validate this report. The future of international justice depends on not allowing complicit silence to win.

This report is part of that effort, but its urgency is magnified by Gaza’s daily pain. On July 10, 2025, the world learned of ten children shot dead in Gaza while waiting for medical care at a hospital entrance. Far from an isolated incident, it is a symbol of barbarity perpetuated with impunity — a clear demonstration of systematic denial of the right to life and basic care. Human rights bodies and independent media have documented an escalation of direct attacks on civilians, often under the pretext of military operations, but with a pattern aimed at annihilating survival infrastructure. In this context, Albanese’s report is not just a document; it is a cry — a tool to break the silence and challenge the perpetrators’ impunity. Today more than ever, the press is the last bastion against global complicity.

Sources and References:

— Official report by Francesca Albanese to the UN Human Rights Council, “From the Economy of Occupation to the Economy of Genocide”, June 18, 2025.
— Al-Haq, WhoProfits, B’Tselem: Reports and analysis on corporate complicity and human rights violations.
— Recent study by a foreign university and Palestinian organization from the West Bank on victims and missing persons in Gaza (consulted in July 2025).
— Statements by Israeli officials: Collected from various media and social networks between October 2023 and May 2025 (cross-checked and contextualized).
— U.S. Treasury Department statement, July 9, 2025.
— UN bodies: OHCHR, UNRWA, UN Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, statements by High Commissioner Volker Türk.
— International and alternative media: Coverage of recent events in Gaza (July 2025).
— Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch: Reports on human rights in the Israel-Palestine conflict.
— Academic and legal analysis sources on corporate liability and international humanitarian law.
— Testimonies from doctors, journalists, and organizations in Gaza.