On Monday, Israel declared that it would not grant a visa to the United Nations special rapporteur for the occupied Palestinian territories due to her recent comments regarding an attack by Hamas on October 7. The special rapporteur, Francesca Albanese, expressed disagreement with French President Emmanuel Macron's characterization of the attack as "the biggest anti-Semitic massacre of our century." She stated that the victims were not targeted because of their Jewish identity, but rather in response to Israeli oppression.

Israel's Foreign Minister and Interior Minister condemned Albanese's remarks as "outrageous" and announced that she would be denied entry to the country. They also called for her dismissal. In response, Albanese stated that the denial of entry by Israel was not surprising, as all special rapporteurs for the occupied Palestinian territories have been denied entry since 2008. She emphasized that the focus should remain on Israel's actions in Gaza, particularly the recent bombings in "safe areas" in Rafah.

Tensions between Israel and various UN bodies and representatives have escalated since the conflict with Hamas in the Gaza Strip began. The Israeli ministers demanded that the UN publicly disavow Albanese's comments and terminate her position, asserting that her words were anti-Semitic.

Albanese clarified that her remarks were not meant to justify the Hamas attack and expressed disappointment that they had been interpreted as such. She emphasized that labeling these crimes as anti-Semitic obscures their true cause and reiterated that anti-Semitism is a global threat. UN special rapporteurs are independent experts who report their findings to the Human Rights Council, and they do not speak on behalf of the United Nations.

Israel has previously criticized Albanese for her statements in November, when she and other UN-mandated rights experts warned of the grave risk of genocide faced by Palestinians in Gaza. Additionally, she has voiced opposition to the decision by several donor countries to suspend funding for the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, following Israeli allegations of staff involvement in the October 7 attack.

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