By Palestine Chronicle Staff  

UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese concludes with a legal and moral imperative: corporations must withdraw from any engagement with the Israeli military.

A powerful new report submitted to the UN Human Rights Council by Francesca Albanese, the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967, is drawing sharp condemnation — not only from Israel but also from the United States.

Titled ‘From Economy of Occupation to Economy of Genocide’, the report delivers a searing indictment of corporate involvement in Israel’s settler-colonial enterprise and its ongoing genocidal war on Gaza, accusing private and state-linked companies of enabling apartheid, war crimes, and genocide.

In an unusually aggressive response, the US Mission to the United Nations issued a public call for Albanese’s removal, accusing her of “virulent antisemitism,” “support for terrorism,” and of launching a “campaign of economic warfare targeting entities across the world.” 

The statement went further, claiming that continued inaction by UN Secretary-General António Guterres would “require significant actions in response to Ms. Albanese’s misconduct.”

From Dispossession to Extermination

Drawing on over 200 submissions and a proprietary database of nearly 1,000 implicated firms, Albanese outlines how corporate actors have long enabled the Israeli project of “displacement and replacement” of Palestinians. But she says that since October 2023, this involvement has crossed a new threshold.

“Post-October 2023, corporate actors have contributed to the acceleration of the displacement-replacement process throughout the military campaign that has pulverized Gaza and displaced the largest number of Palestinians in the West Bank since 1967,” the report states.

These actions, Albanese argues, are not passive or accidental. Rather, they constitute “material contributions” to international crimes — including apartheid and genocide — and potentially place companies and executives at legal risk under both domestic and international law.

“Commercial endeavours enabling and profiting from the obliteration of innocent people’s lives must cease,” the report warns. “Corporate entities must refuse to be complicit in human rights violations and international crimes or be held to account.”

An Economy Engineered for Genocide

The report tracks how various sectors — arms manufacturing, surveillance tech, banking, academia, construction, and logistics — have become “interdependent pillars” of a settler-colonial economy turned genocidal apparatus.

Among the most damning findings is the role of Israeli and international arms manufacturers. 

Companies like Elbit Systems and Israel Aerospace Industries, both among the top 50 global weapons producers, have provided the Israeli military with drones, targeting systems, and bombs used in Gaza. These weapons — including F-35s and unguided MK-84s — were responsible for dropping an estimated 85,000 tons of explosives since October 2023.

“The ongoing genocide has been a profitable venture,” Albanese writes, noting that Israeli military spending surged 65 percent in a single year — from 2023 to 2024 — reaching $46.5 billion.

American and European firms are also implicated. Lockheed Martin, Microsoft, Amazon, Palantir, IBM, and even Danish shipping giant Maersk have all been connected to either weapons supply chains or the surveillance and data infrastructure used in the war on Gaza.

Surveillance as a Weapon

Beyond bombs and bullets, the report highlights the role of “digital occupation” — surveillance systems, biometric databases, and AI-based targeting.

“Repression of Palestinians has become progressively automated,” Albanese notes. “Tech companies (have profited) from the unique testing ground for military technology offered by the occupied Palestinian territory.”

Microsoft and Amazon’s Project Nimbus cloud deal with Israel, worth $1.2 billion, is one example. It supplies AI and data infrastructure to Israel’s Ministry of Defense. Meanwhile, Palantir’s predictive policing platforms and battlefield integration systems have played a role in Israeli targeting decisions.

In January 2024, when confronted with allegations that Palantir’s technology had directly contributed to the targeting and killing of civilians in Gaza, the company’s CEO responded by stating, “Mostly terrorists, that’s true.” Albanese cites this remark as a striking example of “executive-level knowledge and purpose vis-à-vis the unlawful use of force.”

A Call for Accountability

Albanese concludes with a legal and moral imperative: corporations must withdraw from any engagement with the Israeli military or economy that enables violations of international law. States, too, are obligated to prevent such complicity.

“Where corporate entities continue their activities and relationships with Israel… they may be found to have knowingly contributed to: violation of the Palestinian right to self-determination… crimes of apartheid and genocide… and other ancillary crimes,” the report affirms.

US Escalation and Demand for Removal

In a highly politicized reaction, the United States responded to the report with an unprecedented call for Francesca Albanese’s removal. 

In a statement issued by the US Mission to the United Nations, Washington accused Albanese of “virulent antisemitism,” “support for terrorism,” and engaging in “economic warfare targeting entities across the world.” The statement further alleged that her legal findings were “deeply flawed” and her accusations of apartheid and genocide “false and offensive.”

It warned that continued failure by UN Secretary-General António Guterres to condemn her work and dismiss her from the role would “require significant actions” and “bring further disgrace to the United Nations.”

As pressure mounts on Albanese over her detailed findings, the report underscores a central conclusion: dismantling the global network of corporate and state actors sustaining Israel’s occupation, apartheid, and alleged genocide is not only a matter of accountability, but a legal and ethical imperative under international law.

(The Palestine Chronicle)