Judge freezes Trump sanctions on UN official critical of Israel

A US judge has temporarily blocked sanctions against Francesca Albanese, the UN special rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories, who was blacklisted by President Donald Trump’s administration over her criticism of Israel’s war on Gaza.

Albanese has repeatedly labeled Israel’s war in Gaza a “genocide,” calling for a full arms embargo and trade sanctions. She also called for the arrest of Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu under a 2024 International Criminal Court (ICC) warrant, charging him and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant with war crimes. The ICC, established in 2002 under the Rome Statute to prosecute genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity, has 125 member states, though major powers including the US, Russia, China, India, and Israel are not full members.

Last year, she published a high-profile report accusing more than 60 companies, including US arms makers, of enabling and profiting from Israel’s actions in Gaza.

The US, Israel’s main backer and largest aid provider, sanctioned Albanese in mid-2025 under Trump’s executive order targeting people “directly engaged” in ICC investigations tied to alleged atrocities in Gaza. The measures barred her from entering the US and effectively cut her off from the international banking system.

In a ruling on Wednesday, US District Judge Richard Leon said the sanctions violate the First Amendment of the US Constitution, which guarantees freedom of speech.

“Albanese has done nothing more than speak!” Leon wrote. “It is undisputed that her recommendations have no binding effect on the ICC’s actions – they are nothing more than her opinion.”

The court rejected arguments that Albanese – an Italian citizen living in Tunisia – was not entitled to First Amendment protections in the US. Leon cited her “extensive connections” to the US, including owning a home in Washington DC and having a daughter born in the US, as grounds for constitutional protections.

Neither the White House nor the State Department has commented on the ruling. Judge Leon’s injunction temporarily freezes the sanctions, but does not permanently block them. It remains unclear when a final ruling will be issued.

Albanese welcomed the ruling in a post on X, but called it only a temporary “respite,” warning that ICC judges and Palestinian NGOs critical of Israeli actions in Gaza still face sanctions. The US has sanctioned 11 ICC officials and at least 10 NGOs and civil society groups over the Gaza war.

Israel responded with a massive military campaign to the Hamas-led October 7, 2023 attack that killed around 1,200 people. While active fighting was technically paused under a ceasefire reached last year, the truce has repeatedly broken down amid disputes over disarmament.

The war has killed more than 72,000 Palestinians and wounded over 172,000, according to Gaza health authorities, triggering a severe humanitarian crisis. An independent UN inquiry, rights groups, and several countries have accused Israel of genocide, with the UN finding that Israel met four of the five criteria, including killings, serious harm, and creating conditions aimed at Gaza’s “physical destruction.”

South Africa launched a genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in 2023, with more than 18 countries formally backing it. Israel denies the allegations, saying that it is acting in self-defense against Hamas and accusing critics of antisemitism.