Francesca Albanese is such a threat to world peace and security, according to the US, that she joins four International Criminal Court judges and the court’s chief prosecutor on its sanctions list. She is the first UN expert in history to be the subject of sanctions. The US has also written to the UN secretary-general to demand she is sacked.
Albanese has not killed anyone. She has not stolen anything. She has not committed any crime. Her mortal sin is to stand up for international law and human rights, and demand that this applies to Israel.
Albanese will not be deterred. She has been labeled a terrorist, a Marxist and an antisemite by those wishing to smear her and get her fired. She has not blinked. What is the report she has published that the US dislikes? It is entitled “From Economy of Occupation to Economy of Genocide,” an examination of the economic underpinnings of Israel’s genocide.
Much of the media and political focus of those determined to ensure accountability for Israel’s crimes has understandably focused on states. The campaign for an arms trade ban has been supercharged in major weapons-exporting states, with some results. Others want states to rip up free trade agreements with Israel.
But one of the core foundations of Israel’s occupation and genocide has been corporate complicity. This underpins the scaffolding of the regime of occupation and apartheid. For years, this has been a central feature of global civil society’s efforts to hold Israel to account.
This is what Albanese examines in this groundbreaking report. To what extent have major corporate actors become sponsors of these crimes? To what extent can they do what states, for legal or public relations reasons, cannot? She cites more than 60 international companies involved in “the transformation of Israel’s economy of occupation to an economy of genocide.” She called on the International Criminal Court to look to prosecute the chief executives of these companies.
One of the most incredible aspects of Israel’s 58-year-old occupation is how profitable it is. These companies are not generally motivated by ideology, but by good old-fashioned corporate greed. They make money. Given that, as the report points out, the Israeli defense budget has doubled since October 2023, they make considerable quantities of money.
Albanese is clear that the report is not a mere list of such companies but an attempt to expose the system and how it enables genocide. The UN already has a database of companies that trade and do business in settlements, though many member states oppose or ignore this. This should change.
This corporate network is vital for Israel not just to maintain its occupation, but to expand it. The arms companies are well known, but less so is the fact the Occupied Territories are a testing ground for weapons and artificial intelligence systems. But there are also civilian businesses, banks, insurance companies and major tourism companies that, for example, rent properties in illegal Israeli settlements. One 2025 survey found 760 rooms in illegal settlements were available for rent on just two platforms. When you examine the entries for these properties, the unknowing tourist would have no idea they would be holidaying in occupied territory.
Chris Doyle is director of the Council for Arab-British Understanding in London.
X: @Doylech
Source: Arab News
