𝐀𝐥𝐛𝐚𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐬𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐛𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐧𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐟 𝐔𝐒 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐞𝐬

Aljazeera, July 10, 2025

The UN’s special rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian Territories has denounced the sanctions issued against her by the administration of US President Donald Trump, saying the US tech giants named in her recent report had “gone whining” to the government.

“They’ve never challenged me on the facts. I’ve given these companies the opportunity to correct me. Instead, they’ve gone whining to the US administration to treat me as they are,” she told reporters Thursday morning during a visit to Ljubljana, Slovenia. “This speaks to who they are, and I will continue to do what I have to do.”

Earlier this month, Albanese released a report naming scores of corporations aiding Israel in the displacement of Palestinians and its genocidal war on Gaza, in breach of international law. The report names 48 corporate actors, including Amazon, Microsoft, and Alphabet, Inc. – Google’s parent company.

“I am the first UN person to be imposed a sanction for what? For having exposed the genocide? For having denounced the system?” she asked.

The “Final Solution” to the Palestinian Question

 Killing Palestinians and throwing them off their land is a very efficient way of "solving" the Palestinian question.

 

By Dubravka Žarkov, FPIF,  July 8, 2025

There should be no doubt any longer, if there ever was, that Israel is exacting a “final solution” to the Palestinian question. There are no gas chambers, but Israel is utilizing other deadly methods to erase Palestinians and obliterate Palestine from the face of the Earth.

One is the direct killing of people. Another is the destruction of any and every possible means that could sustain their life.

As of early July 2025, more than 56,000 people are reported killed and more than 133,000 wounded, which, according to Lancet, is a gross underreporting. With an inadequate influx of medical supplies throughout the genocide, and especially since Israel’s total blockade of Gaza at the beginning of March 2025, many of those wounded face preventable deaths. The same is true for chronic patients, as for almost anybody else who has a moderate-to-serious health problem and might need medical assistance or intervention. With most hospitals and health centers destroyed and medical personnel decimated, it’s nearly impossible to support those who need help. Also, it’s necessary to factor in the deterioration of the immune systems of people exhausted by starvation, constant displacement, fear, grief, and hopelessness. Living in ruins and abysmal sanitary conditions like these makes even a small infection and inflammation deadly.

Yet another method of bringing death is through the poisoning of air, water, and soil. Reports from numerous international organizations point to the long-term consequences of Israel’s destruction of the Palestinian physical environment. According to Scientific American, in January 2024, there were 15 million tons of rubble in Gaza, creating toxic dust linked to “pulmonary and respiratory disease and cancer.” In June 2024, there were already 39 million tons of debris from continuous systematic destruction of Gaza. Especially hazardous are heavy metal contamination, and presence of asbestos, both known as cancerous. Experts argue that the devastation of Gaza, which some have called ecocide, will eventually cause many more deaths than bombs.

Even if the genocide were to stop this very moment, the deaths of Palestinians in Gaza will continue en masse. If the wishes of the Israeli leadership, the majority of Israeli Jews, and the Trump family come true, the Palestinians who eventually survive may find themselves forcibly transferred to some other territory.

The fate of the West Bank might not be too different. With the help of Palestinian Authority security forces and much more emboldened Jewish settlers, the Israeli Occupation Force is increasing exponentially the rate of the killing and displacing of civilians, the raiding of hospitals, the bulldozing of roads, and the sealing off of cities, making the lives of West Bank Palestinians ever more precarious. Israeli thirst for Palestinian territory—and for the land of their Middle Eastern neighbors—will not be quenched by Gaza.

Killing Palestinians and throwing them off their land—and then erasing every single sign, symbol, and memory of their existence on that land—is a very efficient way of solving the Palestinian question. If there are no Palestinians, there is no question. This is what a final solution is for.

This solution seems to be very convenient for those outside the Middle East as well. European powers in particular appear to be sick and tired of Palestinians. It is bothersome to have to come up with endless variations of sentences about “grave concerns” and the “suffering of civilians,” about “catastrophic situations” and “humanitarian disasters,” and of course, about “violations of human rights” of peoples that are not treated as humans. If they were, there wouldn’t be a genocide in the first place. It is inconvenient to the European Union to have to admit—in a grotesque understatement—that “there are indications” of human rights abuses by its largest trading partner, and it is embarrassing to have to ignore the principles inscribed in the EU’s association agreement with Israel. Even the European states most publicly critical of Israel, such as Ireland and Spain, would not be happy to admit, also publicly, that they have done nothing meaningful whatsoever put into practice their critique, let alone to change the situation for Palestinians on the ground.

For all of them, it would be really so much more convenient if the Palestinian question disappears. But it will not disappear as long as there are Palestinians in Palestine.

Thus, the European powers talk the empty talk, play blind and deaf, and patiently wait for Israel to do the dirty work. It may take a bit of time. To make sure the deed is done, the United States and European powers continue to supply Israel with weapons. For them, it will be such a relief not to have to bother with the Palestinian question any longer.

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Leading Economists Endorse UN Expert's 'Economy of Genocide' Report After Trump Attack

Francesca Albanese, United Nations special rapporteur for the occupied Palestinian territories, speaks during an event on June 23, 2025 in Madrid, Spain.

(Photo: Marcos del Mazo/LightRocket via Getty Images)

A group of economists, including Thomas Piketty and Yanis Varoufakis, expressed solidarity with Francesca Albanese as the Trump administration pushes for her removal as U.N. special rapporteur on occupied Palestine.

Jake Johnson, Common Dreams,  Jul 08, 2025

A group of world-renowned economists has penned an open letter expressing support for United Nations expert Francesca Albanese's recent report scrutinizing the integral role that powerful corporations have played in sustaining Israel's genocidal assault on Palestinians in the illegally occupied territories.

The letter, first obtained and published in English by Zeteo on Monday, characterizes Albanese's report as "a major contribution to understanding the political economy of Israel's apartheid state, the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians, and, now, their genocide," and argues her findings "must be studied and debated widely and freely."

The letter's signatories include former Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis, French economist Thomas Piketty, and University of Massachusetts Amherst economics professor Jayati Ghosh.

The economists' endorsement of Albanese's report comes days after the Trump administration issued a statement calling on United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres to remove her as special rapporteur for the occupied Palestinian territories. The statement was released a day after the publication of Albanese's report, which the Trump administration characterizes as part of "an unacceptable campaign of political and economic warfare against the American and worldwide economy."

The top economists cited the Trump administration's statement as a key impetus behind their decision to publicly back Albanese's work.

"In view of the virulently hostile and indeed intimidating letter from the U.S. government to the U.N. secretary-general demanding the dismissal of Ms. Albanese and the quashing of her excellent report, we felt the need to express our strong support for Ms. Albanese and to encourage the U.N. to dismiss the shrill demands of the U.S. and Israeli governments," the economists wrote.

"Following a well-trodden path of genocide denial and of bullying anyone who challenges the right of the colonial power to dispossess Indigenous peoples," they continued, "the U.S. and Israeli governments, with most European governments too timid to take a stance, demand that the international community turn a blind eye to the ongoing genocide and, in particular, to the key role that multinational and national corporations are playing in maintaining the apartheid regime and enabling the subsequent genocide."

 

Albanese's report thoroughly documents corporate complicity and direct participation in Israel's assault on Palestinians, specifically naming dozens of corporations in a range of sectors—from Lockheed Martin to Microsoft to Chevron to Palantir.

"The complex web of corporate structures—and the often obscured links between parents and subsidiaries, franchises, joint ventures, licensees, etc.—implicates many more," Albanese wrote. "Israel's ongoing illegal occupation of the oPt creates an untenable situation for corporate entities to simply continue business as usual."

"The private sector must, in its own interests, urgently reconsider all engagement connected to Israel's economy of occupation and now genocide," she added.