NEW YORK — More than 60 governments — including leading Western powers and several Arab states — have been accused of enabling Israel’s ongoing military assault on Gaza in what a United Nations expert described as a “collective crime of genocide.”
In a new report presented to the UN General Assembly, Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese said these nations had “turned a blind eye” as Gaza’s two million residents endured relentless bombardment, starvation, and displacement.
The 24-page document, titled “Gaza Genocide: A Collective Crime,” was unveiled Tuesday during a presentation Albanese delivered remotely from the Desmond and Leah Tutu Legacy Foundation in Cape Town.
It is the most forceful UN assessment yet of international complicity in Israel’s campaign, which has killed more than 68,000 Palestinians — mostly women and children — since October 2023, according to Gaza’s health authorities.
“Global powers have harmed, funded and shielded Israel’s militarised apartheid,” Albanese said. “The settler colonial project has now evolved into genocide — the ultimate crime against the indigenous people of Palestine.”
Washington at the Centre of Israel’s War Economy
Albanese placed the United States at the heart of Israel’s military apparatus, citing its $3.3 billion in annual aid, arms transfers, and intelligence cooperation.
Washington has also issued seven UN Security Council vetoes shielding Israel from international censure.
“Military aid has been decisive in sustaining the genocide,” she said, arguing that the assistance violates international law and the Arms Trade Treaty.
The report also singles out Germany, the United Kingdom, France, Italy, Spain, and India, among others, for supplying weapons and dual-use technologies used in Gaza operations.
It accuses the European Union of hypocrisy for maintaining Israel as a key trading partner while sanctioning Russia over its invasion of Ukraine.
European trade with Israel reportedly increased in 2024, led by Germany (+$836 million) and several Eastern European states.
Some Arab countries, including Egypt and the United Arab Emirates, were also listed for expanding trade and security cooperation.
Arab States Under Scrutiny
Albanese criticised Arab governments that normalised relations with Israel even as Gaza’s humanitarian crisis deepened.
She cited Egypt’s “energy cooperation and the closing of the Rafah crossing” as tightening the enclave’s last humanitarian lifeline.
The report condemned what it called the “militarisation of humanitarian aid,” noting that Gaza’s blockade has left 80 per cent of its population dependent on relief. Only about 100 aid trucks were entering the enclave daily by early 2025.
A US- and Israeli-backed initiative, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, was accused of exacerbating civilian deaths at aid distribution points, where more than 2,000 people were killed between March and July 2025.
“The international community now stands on a knife-edge between the collapse of the rule of law and hope for renewal,” Albanese warned. “Renewal is only possible if complicity is confronted, responsibilities are met, and justice is upheld.”
Heated UN Reactions
Her remarks drew sharp reactions at the General Assembly. Israeli envoy Danny Danon denounced Albanese as a “wicked witch,” prompting backlash from human rights advocates who called the insult “outrageous.”
Albanese shot back: “If the worst thing you can accuse me of is witchcraft, I’ll take it. But if I had the power to make spells, I would use it to stop your crimes once and for all.”
She urged states to suspend all military and trade deals with Israel, including those involving dual-use goods, and to replace “a machinery of impunity” with “a framework of rights and dignity.”
The report concludes with a stark warning: unless nations act to end their complicity, “international law will become hollow while Palestinians continue to suffer.”
