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Watchdog org calls for sanctions against UN appointee accused of antisemitism
EXCLUSIVE — A United Nations watchdog organization is calling on Secretary of State Marco Rubio to take action against an appointee of the international body whose second term is set to begin on May 1.
In a letter to Rubio, U.N. Watch Executive Director Hillel Neuer argues that the U.S. government should sanction and deny entry and visas to Francesca Albanese, the U.N. Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Additionally, he called for Albanese to be stripped of diplomatic immunity.
Neuer describes Albanese in his letter as being «pro-Hamas» and says her reappointment was done «illegally.»
UN Special Rapporteur for the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Francesca Albanese, gives a press conference at the UN City in Copenhagen, Denmark on February 5, 2025. (Ritzau Scanpix/Ida Marie Odgaard via REUTERS )
UN OFFICIAL REAPPOINTED DESPITE ACCUSATIONS OF ANTISEMITISM
«Her purported reappointment this month was illegally carried out in violation of express U.N. rules requiring investigation of her misconduct, rendering her term renewal null and void,» Neuer wrote.
When speaking with Fox News Digital, Neuer pointed to the DOJ’s recent decision to allow lawsuits against the UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine) as evidence that Rubio has the ability to act against Albanese.
Neuer argued that the U.S. should act using a similar principle to the one used in cases against anti-Israel agitators, such as Mahmoud Khalil. He also wrote that «Albanese’s abuse of a global platform to spread hatred and legitimize terrorism demands an unequivocal response.»
«Legally, it’s very clear to me — I used to be an attorney in Manhattan for one of the major law firms in the United States — it’s clear to be in any proper court of law this kind of procedural malpractice fraud would result in her not being a U.N. appointee,» Neuer told Fox News Digital.
UN’s Special Rapporteur on the Palestinian territories, Francesca Albanese, attends Maghreb-Mashreq Social Forum in Tunis, Tunisia on May 11, 2024. (Mohamed Mdalla/Anadolu via Getty Images)
LAWYERS FOR COLUMBIA ANTI-ISRAEL ACTIVIST MAHMOUD KHALIL BLAST RUBIO EVIDENCE LETTER: ‘TWO PAGES, THAT’S IT’
When asked about U.N. Watch’s letter, Pascal Sim, Spokesperson, UN Human Rights Council, told Fox News Digital that, «Francesca Albanese, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967 (a country mandate), was appointed by the Human Rights Council on 1 April 2022, which was the last day of the 49th session of the Human Rights Council. She took up her function on 1 May 2022. Therefore, according to the «no longer than six years» principle, she can serve as Special Rapporteur until 30 April 2028.»
Sim also asserted that «at no time has the Human Rights Council, in any formal or informal way, been called to ‘reappoint’ or ‘renew’ any Special Procedures mandate-holder. Whenever the Human Rights Council nominates any Special Procedures mandate-holder, it does so with the knowledge that the mandate-holder may serve up to six years in this function.»
Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the occupied Palestinian territory, Francesca Albanese, speaks during a press conference at the European headquarters of the UN in Geneva, Switzerland, on Dec. 11, 2024. (REUTERS/Pierre Albouy)
Earlier this month, when the U.N. was set to consider Albanese’s reappointment, House Foreign Affairs Committee (HFAC) Chair Rep. Brian Mast, R-Fla., urged the U.N. not to allow it to go through.
Mast argued in a letter to U.N. Human Rights Council (UNHRC) President Jürg Lauber that Albanese «unapologetically» used her role in the international body to «attempt to legitimize antisemitic tropes, while serving as a Hamas apologist.»
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In the past, multiple countries, including the U.S., have condemned Albanese for her remarks. In fact, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) has compiled a list of antisemitic and anti-Israel statements made by Albanese throughout the years.
In October 2024, while serving as a U.N. appointee, she shared a post on X, calling it a «must-read for the ages.» In the post, journalist Chris Hedges asserted that the «Israel lobby has bought and paid for Congress and the two ruling parties,» making campaign donations by Zionists «a formidable barrier to peace.»
Albanese also compared Israel’s war in Gaza to the Holocaust and, in August 2024, called the Gaza Strip a «concentration camp of the 21st century.»
Fox News Digital reached out to Francesca Albanese and the State Department for comment on this report but did not receive a response in time for publication.
INTERNACIONAL
US allowing some Nigeria embassy staff to evacuate over ‘deteriorating security situation’
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The State Department said it authorized the departure of some staff at its embassy in Nigeria over the «deteriorating security situation» in the African country.
The development comes weeks after the U.S. military reportedly sent MQ-9 Reaper drones to Nigeria amid fears of a renewed insurgency by the terrorist group Boko Haram. The day before the authorization was issued, gunmen attacked two villages about 155 miles from Abuja, where the U.S. embassy is located, killing 20 people, residents told The Associated Press.
«On April 8, 2026, the U.S. Department of State authorized the voluntary departure of non-emergency U.S. government employees and family members from U.S. Embassy Abuja due to the deteriorating security situation,» the U.S. Embassy and Consulate in Nigeria said. «The U.S. Embassy in Abuja will remain open but will have limited ability to provide emergency services to U.S. citizens in Nigeria.»
«The U.S. Consulate General in Lagos will continue to provide routine and emergency services to U.S. citizens in Nigeria,» it added. «The Department of State Travel Advisory for Nigeria remains at Level 3, recommending travelers reconsider travel to Nigeria due to crime, terrorism, civil unrest, kidnapping, armed gangs, and inconsistent availability of health care services.»
GUNMEN ON BIKES STORM NIGERIA VILLAGE ON PALM SUNDAY, KILLING AT LEAST 20
Nigerian soldiers prepare to patrol in Maiduguri on March 18, 2026, following a deadly triple suicide bombing that killed 23 people on March 16. (Audu Marte/AFP/Getty Images)
The embassy also said, «U.S. citizens in Abuja should consider departing if you do not need to remain for emergency or essential purposes.»
The recent attacks occurred in the early hours of Tuesday in Bagna and Erena, located in the Shiroro area of Niger state.
«They came on motorbikes and began shooting. It was a surprise attack, because it was in the early hours of the morning,» Jibrin Isah, who lives in Erena, told the AP.
100 US TROOPS LAND IN NIGERIA AS ISLAMIC MILITANTS THREATEN WEST AFRICA REGIONAL SECURITY
Police officers gather at the scene of Sunday night gunmen attack in the Gari Ya Waye community in Nigeria, Monday, March 30, 2026. (Samson Omale/AP)
Residents said at least 20 people were killed, with more missing. However, local police said only three people were killed.
The State Department said in a travel advisory issued Wednesday that there is «risk of terrorist violence, including terrorist attacks and other activity in Nigeria,» adding, «Terrorists collaborate with local gangs to expand their reach» and «They may attack with little or no warning.»
The MQ-9 drones reportedly were deployed to Nigeria in late March after 200 U.S. troops arrived in February to provide training and intelligence. Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, is battling a complex security crisis, especially in the north of the country.
A spokesperson for AFRICOM, the U.S. Africa Command, had told the AP that U.S. troops «are working alongside their Nigerian counterparts to provide intelligence support, advisory assistance, and targeted training in support of the Nigerian Armed Forces.»
Among the most prominent Islamic militant groups active in Nigeria are Boko Haram and its breakaway faction, which is affiliated with the Islamic State and is known as Islamic State West Africa Province, or ISWAP.
A U.S. military MQ-9 Reaper drone approaches for landing at Rafael Hernandez Airport in Aguadilla, Puerto Rico, on Dec. 29, 2025. (Miguel J. Rodriguez Carrillo/AFP)
There is also the ISIS-linked Lakurawa, as well as other «bandit» groups that specialize in kidnapping for ransom and illegal mining.
President Donald Trump has spoken out against violence targeting Christians in Nigeria, telling Fox News Radio last year, «I’m really angry about it» and «What’s happening in Nigeria is a disgrace.»
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Secretary of War Pete Hegseth also met with Nigerian national security advisor Nuhu Ribadu last November amid threats from Trump to cut off aid to Nigeria if the country «continues to allow the killing of Christians.» Nigerian officials have pushed back on the accusation.
Fox News Digital’s Anders Hagstrom and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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House Democrats are weighing a long-shot scenario to remove President Donald Trump using the 25th Amendment, but are declining to say whether they’ll act before the November midterm elections.
House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Jamie Raskin, D-Md., will brief congressional Democrats Friday afternoon on the constitutional mechanism that would rely heavily on Trump’s Cabinet agreeing to push him out of office.
The 25th Amendment has never been used before to involuntarily remove a president and is effectively moot without widespread Republican buy-in. But a bevy of House Democrats have embraced that scenario following the president’s escalating conflict with Iran.
«Donald Trump’s deranged threat to destroy ‘a whole civilization’ in Iran is a threat to commit war crimes and genocide,» Raskin wrote on social media Tuesday. «Republicans in Congress must prevail upon Vice President Vance, now campaigning for Putin’s puppet Viktor Orban in Hungary, to return to the U.S. and invoke Section 4 of the 25th Amendment.»
Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., speaks to reporters outside House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office in Washington, D.C., on July 22, 2021, after meeting with members of the select committee investigating the January 6 insurrection. The committee is scheduled to hold its first hearing next week. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images) (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
MASSIE-LED PUSH TO HANDCUFF TRUMP ON IRAN GETS JEFFRIES’ BACKING
«The 25th Amendment should be invoked to spare our country and the world from his increasingly unhinged behavior,» Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., a member of the Judiciary Committee, also said Tuesday.
Dozens of House Democrats have continued to press for the president’s ouster despite the announcement of a two-week ceasefire.
«All options should be on the table,» Rep. Sara Jacobs, D-Calif., said Thursday.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., has offered support for the briefing and ongoing discussions about the president’s removal, saying Democrats are considering a «range of accountability mechanisms.»
The lead Democrat, however, has remained ambiguous about his personal views despite signaling that all options remain on the table. That is largely in keeping with Jeffries’ efforts over the past year to keep the focus away from impeachment talk while leaning into policy fights over health care costs, tariffs and immigration enforcement.
Fox News Digital reached out to members of House Democratic leadership, but did not receive a response before publication.
A spokesperson for the House Judiciary Committee declined to comment on the 25th Amendment briefing.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., and House Minority Whip Katherine Clark, D-Mass., are seen before a rally with House Democrats on the steps of the U.S. Capitol to oppose the Senate passed spending bill that would reopen the government because it does not extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits, on Wednesday, November 12, 2025. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc)
LONGTIME TRUMP CRITIC REVEALS WHY SHE THINKS HIS IRAN ACTIONS ARE WRONG, WARNS IT’S A ‘MUCH BIGGER WAR’
Jeffries largely sidestepped a question Thursday regarding why Democrats are having conversations about removing Trump during a news conference in New York City.
«We have a responsibility as a separate and co-equal branch of government to defend the American people, and we want to be able to do it in an informed way,» Jeffries said before pivoting to criticizing Republicans over the cost of living.
«We’ve ruled nothing out and we’ve ruled nothing in,» Jeffries told MS Now when asked about whether he thought the 25th Amendment should be invoked.
In both appearances Jeffries did not acknowledge that Democrats, who are effectively powerless in Washington, lack the numbers to successfully push impeachment or constitutional mechanisms to oust Trump.
U.S. President Donald Trump arrives to address the nation from the Cross Hall of the White House on April 1, 2026 in Washington, D.C. (Alex Brandon-Pool/Getty Images)
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In the 25th Amendment scenario, the power rests with Vice President JD Vance and Trump’s Cabinet, who would have to agree the president is unfit to serve. Assuming Trump were to challenge that decision, two-thirds of the House and Senate — meaning a significant number of Republicans in Congress — would have to vote in support of that judgment.
At present, Democrats also have a math problem when it comes to impeachment and conviction, which requires a two-thirds majority in the Senate. Congressional Democrats failed twice to convict Trump in his first term.
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