France and Germany have called on Francesca Albanese, the UN special representative for the occupied Palestinian territories, to step down over her comments.
More than 100 prominent artists – including musicians, actors and writers – have signed an open letter in support of the United Nations Special Representative for the Occupied Palestinian Territory who faces international calls to step down.
In a group letter Artists for Palestine On Saturday, the signatories offered “full support”. Francesca AlbaneseDefenders of human rights and, therefore, of the Palestinian people’s right to exist”.
Recommended stories
4 List of itemsEnd of list
“There are countless of us in every corner of the earth who want no more law. Who knows what the word ‘law’ really means,” the letter said.
Among the supporters were actors Mark Ruffalo and Javier Bardem, Nobel Prize-winning author Anne Arnoux, and British musician Anne Lennox.
At last week’s Al Jazeera forum, the Albanians, an outspoken critic of Israel The genocidal war on GazaSaid “we have a common enemy as humanity”, but a fake video that was later debunked accused Israel of having a “common enemy”.
She later clarified in a social media post that she was referring to the “system enabling genocide in Palestine” as a “common enemy”.
‘Crush any criticism of Israel’
Still, European countries, including France and Germany, are calling for her removal.
On Tuesday, a group of French MPs sent a letter to Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot condemning Albanese’s remarks as “anti-Semitic”. A day later, Barot called on her to step down, saying that France “condemns the insulting and blasphemous remarks”.
On Thursday, German Foreign Minister Johann Wadeful called her role “incompetent”.
Franck Barat, author and filmmaker, said French President Emmanuel Macron and Barot have repeatedly said they support international law “when the facts show the complete opposite”.
The Albanians have emphasized for the past two years that under international law, “states have a duty to act to prevent genocide and they have completely failed” in Gaza, Barat told Al Jazeera.
“Since Francesca highlights this hypocrisy, she has been targeted by most Western governments. The political agenda of these governments is to crush any criticism of Israel. We have seen it. On the streets of Europe. We have seen it on the streets of America,” he added.
People who speak out against Israel’s war on Palestine are “criminals and perpetrators of genocide.” Continue to let go“, said Barat.
Marta Hurtado, spokeswoman for the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, told a news conference on Friday that her colleagues were “very concerned” about the backlash against Albanians.
“We are concerned that UN officials, independent experts and judicial authorities are increasingly subject to personal attacks, threats and misinformation that distract from serious human rights issues,” Hurtado said.
Nearly 600 Palestinians have been killed by Israel in Gaza since the October 10 ceasefire alone. At least 72,000 Palestinians have been killed and 171,000 injured In Israel’s war From October 2023