UN Controversy: Francesca Albanese Links Los Angeles Fires to Gaza

Francesca Albanese, United Nations special rapporteur “on the occupied Palestinian territories”, finds herself at the center of a new controversy after drawing a parallel between the fires in Los Angeles and the conflict in Gaza. The controversy erupted following his sharing of an article from -, a progressive anti-Zionist media outlet based in New York. The article, written by Ahmad Ibsais, a Palestinian-American student and BDS activist, asserts that “the fires burning in Palestine and Los Angeles today are symptoms of the same disease: a system that favors conquest over conservation, benefit to people, and expansion to existence.” Albanese commented on this sharing by adding: “On our small planet, all injustices are connected.”

This statement provoked strong reactions. Waleed Gadban, political adviser to the Israeli mission to the UN in Geneva, responded: “Hate does not need a cause, only an opportunity to manifest itself. That is the very purpose of its existence .” Hillel Neuer, executive director of UN Watch, accused Albanese of perpetuating anti-Semitic tropes.

Since October 7, the special rapporteur has taken more and more controversial positions. She notably affirmed that the Hamas attack was not anti-Semitic and challenged Israel’s right to defend itself. In an interview with Piers Morgan, she said: “The day Israel was attacked, it had every right to defend itself, to protect its citizens (…) but Israel did not have the right to fight a war against the Palestinians in Gaza.”

Last July, she had already sparked outrage by approving a publication comparing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Nazi leader Adolf Hitler, which led the Israeli Foreign Ministry to describe it as a “desperate case”.