Relations with Israel and Zionism, threats received and his role as a jurist. Francesca Albanese he told his story in a long interview on Corriere della Sera. There is no shortage of steps backwards regarding the episodes in which he is the protagonist along with the mayor Reggio Emilia. Pressed by the journalist’s questions, the UN special rapporteur for the occupied Palestinian territories admitted he was wrong in saying “I forgive you” to the Mayor of Reggio Emilia Marco Massari who mentioned the Hamas hostage issue. “When I looked at my comment again, I said to myself: no, that’s not really like me.”telling you.
But let’s take a step back. A month ago, Albanese was at the center of controversy for criticizing the mayor of Reggio Emilia. The reason is easy to explain: The mayor had just said, before handing Francesca Albanese the First Tricolor (the city’s highest honor), that a peace process was also needed to free Israeli hostages held by Hamas. “I don’t judge the mayor and I forgive him. But don’t say anything like that again.” the UN rapporteur answered flatly, accompanied by loud applause from the pro-PAL members present. Due to this, the legal experts took a step back, who until now stated that they would definitely not repeat these comments to the Mayor of Reggio Emilia who had said that the release of the Israeli hostages was necessary for the peace process.
But in the interview, the Italian legal expert also focused on sanctions and threat very serious about it. The pressure is very strong. In 2024, death threats began, the letter said “we know where you live”rape threats against my daughter: “We will do to her as they did to the women of Israel”. There, he said, he went “the need to get protection where I live, in Tunisia”. Regarding sanctions, this is even clearer. “I am the first official in the history of the United Nations to experience such treatment – he said of sanctions – that I experienced along with Putin, Khamenei and Maduro. And this only applies to me because I cooperate with the International Criminal Court.
In fact, I condemn the human rights violations committed by Israel. Regarding Hamas, ‘there is no doubt that there has been a violent terrorist attack, and this must be condemned. But what has Israel done for 60 years in the occupied Palestinian territories?”he concluded.
