Albanese vs Trump: denounced in Washington and attacked for Palantir in Gaza

In the appeal, Albanese's family denounces the loss of access to bank accounts, relationships with several universities, the ability to travel to the United States and access to a flat of the UN expert in Washington.

"Sanctions, when used appropriately, are a powerful tool for disrupting and undermining the activities of terrorists, criminals and authoritarian regimes," the appeal states: "However, sanctions are abused when they are aimed at silencing unwelcome views and violating the constitutional rights of people the government does not like."

"In essence, according to the file, the case is about the defendants' ability to sanction a person - ruining his life and the lives of his loved ones, including his citizen daughter - because the defendants disagree with his recommendations or fear his ability to persuade".

The State Department dismissed the lawsuit calling it "unfounded" and defended the US sanctions against Albanese calling them "legal and appropriate." "Francesca Albanese has openly supported anti-Semitism, terrorism, and engaged in legal actions against our nation and our interests, including major US companies vital to the world economy," the department said. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the lawsuit.

Albanese, UN Special Rapporteur on the West Bank and Gaza, is a member of a group of experts chosen by the 47-member UN Human Rights Council in Geneva. She was appointed to investigate human rights violations in the Palestinian territories and spoke openly about what she described as the "genocide" by Israel against Palestinians in Gaza.

On Wednesday, the Gaza Health Ministry reported that 618 Palestinians had been killed since the ceasefire began, bringing the cumulative death tollto 72,082 since the beginning of the Israeli offensive.

'I note that French diplomacy has finally changed its mind. I would have expected a word of clarification and an apology because they insulted me in a harsh and unacceptable way'. This is what Francesca Albanese says, interviewed by BFMTV after France's retreat on the resignation request at the UN in Geneva.

The impact of the sanctions imposed by Washington on the UN executive has also been felt by Banca Etica. In recent weeks, Francesca Albanese has tried to open an account with the Italia bank.

The rules imposed on financial institutions - it became known on 9 September 2025 - effectively prevented the opening of the bank account: 'During the necessary checks required by Italian and European legislation on anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism, it emerged that Dr. Albanese is on the US sanctions list (Ofac's Sdn List). National law requires banks to carry out these checks and, in the case of sanctioned persons, an alert is triggered that exposes the bank to the risk of serious penalties when opening a current account'

Palantir Technologies, the US artificial intelligence-based data analysis giant, has a permanent office in the Civil and Military Coordination Centre (Cmcc), set up by the United States in southern Israel to monitor compliance with the ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip, where it is allegedly providing the technological architecture to track the delivery and distribution of aid in the Palestinian enclave.

This was reported to the Drop News website by three diplomatic sources in the CMCC, pointing out that a Palantir representative sits in the CMCC operations room, where aid convoys and distributions within Gaza are monitored by drone surveillance.

"The United Nations already has a humanitarian architecture capable of intervening during crises, in accordance with humanitarian principles and based on international law," UN Special Rapporteur for the Occupied Palestinian Territories Francesca Albanese told Drop Site. "This parallel profit-driven system involving companies such as Palantir, already linked to Israel's misconduct, can only be considered a monstrosity.

Palantir did not respond to a request for information from Drop Site on its role in the Cmcc or in the distribution of aid to Gaza.

Founded in 2003 by billionaire Peter Thiel with investment backing from In-Q-Tel, the venture capital division of the CIA, Palantir is known for its collaboration with government agencies, including the US military and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

In January 2024, three months after the start of the war in Gaza, Palantir announced that it had entered into a 'strategic partnership' with the Israeli army for 'war-related missions', the site recalls.

Palantir did not reveal which technologies would be provided to Israel, but a year earlier it had introduced its Artificial Intelligence Platform (Aip) to help the armed forces quickly analyse and identify targets to strike.

According to Drop Site, the company's technology was described by a Palantir executive as a way to 'optimise the kill chain'.