Pro-Hamas UN rapporteur demands X censor critics

Anti-Israel UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese, who denied October 7 atrocities, calls on X to block accusations by critics that she has promoted Hamas’ cause.

By World Israel News Staff

United Nations Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese has accused UN Watch Executive Director Hillel Neuer of “outright defamation” after he branded her Hamas’s “de facto spokesperson” at the United Nations, prompting Neuer to publicly challenge her to sue him and put her record before a court.

The exchange erupted on X after Neuer renewed his longstanding criticism of Albanese, the UN special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Judea, Samaria, and the Gaza Strip.

“Calling me Hamas Spokesperson is outright defamation, something one might expect from a decent platform that breaks its own rules, but perhaps not from Twitter’s current patron. Am I right, @Twitter?” Albanese wrote.

Neuer responded by escalating the confrontation and inviting Albanese to pursue the matter legally.

“Please sue me, Ms. Albanese. As you are a non-lawyer, let me explain: Truth is an absolute defense,” Neuer wrote. “I repeat: You are Hamas’s de facto spokesperson at the UN. I would love to put your record before a court. Of course, to sue me, you’d have to admit you know exactly who I am.”

The final line referred to a widely circulated appearance by Albanese on Piers Morgan’s program, during which she was asked whether she knew Neuer and responded simply: “Who?” The exchange subsequently became a recurring meme among her critics.

Neuer then began publishing what he described as a series of evidentiary “exhibits” to substantiate his accusation.

Among the statements he highlighted was a past description by Albanese of Hamas as more than an armed organization.

“Hamas, Hamas, Hamas… People have no idea what it is,” Albanese said in the remarks cited by Neuer.

“Hamas is a political force that won the most democratic elections. Hamas built schools, public facilities, hospitals. Don’t think of armed cut-throats. It’s not like that.”

UN Watch has also documented instances in which senior Hamas officials publicly praised Albanese’s work.

In July 2023, Hamas political bureau member Basem Naim expressed “appreciation” for Albanese and her team after one of her reports to the UN Human Rights Council, while Hamas spokesman Jihad Taha praised a speech in which she criticized Israeli policies.

Neuer argued that such episodes form part of a much broader record.

“Francesca Albanese cannot refute the facts of her record, so she resorts to crying ‘outright defamation’ and trying to get X to censor the truth on her behalf,” Neuer said in a statement supplied by UN Watch.

“This is the classic tactic of those who abuse the language of human rights while whitewashing terrorists.”

“For years we have documented that Albanese functions as Hamas’s de facto spokesperson at the United Nations,” he continued. “She has repeatedly inverted the Holocaust, invoked classic antisemitic tropes about Jewish power and the ‘Jewish lobby,’ justified or ‘contextualized’ the October 7 massacre, and received open praise from Hamas leaders.”

“Truth is an absolute defense. If Albanese believes she has been defamed, she should sue me. I invite her to put her full record before a court of law.”

He further claimed that a discovery process could expose “private antisemitic emails and WhatsApp messages” allegedly known among UN insiders.

The clash comes after months of escalating international controversy surrounding Albanese.

In February, France’s Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot issued an unusually harsh denunciation of the rapporteur, saying France “condemns without reservation” remarks he characterized as targeting Israel “as a people and as a nation.”

Barrot accused Albanese of a pattern that included references to a “Jewish lobby,” comments about Oct. 7 and comparisons involving Nazi Germany, and said she was “neither an expert nor independent” but rather “a political activist.”

He called for her resignation.

Germany, Italy, the Czech Republic and other European governments likewise called for Albanese to step down earlier this year.

Reuters reported that the controversy intensified after she was accused of describing Israel as a “common enemy of humanity,” though Albanese said her words had been misrepresented and a transcript reviewed by Reuters did not support that specific characterization.

That episode also drew a defense of Albanese from within the UN system.

An independent committee of UN experts condemned what it called “vicious attacks” and accused governments of relying on disinformation. Albanese herself has described the sustained criticism directed at her as “toxic” and damaging to both her work and family.

The United States has taken even stronger action against her.

Washington imposed sanctions on Albanese in 2025, accusing her of targeting American and Israeli officials through her activities involving the International Criminal Court.

The sanctions have prevented her from traveling to the United States and restricted her financial activity. After a court temporarily disrupted the designation, the Trump administration returned her to the US sanctions list in May 2026.

Israel, meanwhile, has formally sought her removal from her UN role.

In a February letter to the president of the Human Rights Council, Israel accused her of repeatedly violating the code of conduct governing special rapporteurs and said her continued tenure “fundamentally undermines the credibility and moral authority of the United Nations.”

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