Italy Rebukes Own UN Envoy Over Israel Accusations
Jerusalem, 2 November, 2025 (TPS-IL) -- (Adnkronos) – A report “totally lacking credibility and impartiality; as Italy, we are not surprised.” This was stated by Italy’s representative to the UN, Maurizio Massari, speaking at the presentation of the report by Francesca Albanese, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories, entitled “An International Genocide.” “The content of the report,” Massari argued, “clearly exceeds the Special Rapporteur’s specific mandate, which does not include investigations into alleged violations committed by other states or entities, nor assessments of cooperation between third countries and the International Criminal Court.”
“Even more worrying is the complete disregard, particularly in recent months, for the Code of Conduct for Special Rapporteurs, which includes common-sense principles such as integrity, impartiality, and good faith,” Ambassador Massari continued, emphasizing that this code of conduct requires Rapporteurs to “ensure that their political opinions do not prejudice the execution of their mission” and to exercise “moderation and discretion.”
“There is ample evidence online and in her interviews that as Special Rapporteur, Ms. Albanese cannot be considered impartial,” Massari continued. “At a recent public event in Italy, she even appeared to question a local mayor’s statement calling for the release of Israeli hostages.”
On Wednesday, Albanese presented, via live link from Cape Town, to the UN General Assembly the report “The Gaza Genocide: A Collective Crime,” a 24-page report examining the role of 63 states in Israel’s actions in both Gaza and the West Bank. These countries include the United States, the United Kingdom, and EU countries, including Italy .
“The ongoing genocide in Gaza is a collective crime, supported by the complicity of influential third countries that have enabled Israel’s long-term violations of international law,” the report states, denouncing the “direct support, material aid, diplomatic protection, and, in some cases, active participation” of these third countries.
“Through unlawful actions and deliberate omissions, too many states have armed, financed, and protected Israel’s militarized apartheid, allowing its colonial settlement enterprise to metastasize into genocide, the ultimate crime against the people of Palestine,” Albanese said from South Africa.
Israeli Ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon, called Francesca Albanese “a witch.” “You are a witch, and this report is another page in your spellbook,” Danon said after the report’s presentation. “She tried to curse Israel with lies and hatred, but her poison didn’t work,” the ambassador told Albanese, while a UN panel discussed her report, which, according to Danon, “defams Israel and blames the countries that support it.”
