00:00It's the latest effort by the U.S. to punish critics of the Israeli war on Gaza.
00:05The Trump administration is issuing sanctions against an independent investigator tasked with probing human rights abuses in the Palestinian territories.
00:15Before the details, let's cross live now to Washington.
00:18Fraser Jackson, our correspondent there, is standing by for us.
00:21Fraser, this comes in the wake of our recent failed campaign to force the U.N. to remove the special rapporteur from her post.
00:31What more can you tell us?
00:34Yeah, well, for now, she is still there.
00:36But now the Trump administration ratcheting up pressure by announcing it's issuing sanctions on Wednesday against the independent investigator tasked with probing human rights abuses in the Palestinian territories.
00:46Francesca Albanese has been an outspoken critic of Israel's military offensive in Gaza.
00:52And now U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is saying that the U.S. was sanctioning Albanese for directly engaging with the International Criminal Court in its efforts to prosecute American or Israeli nationals.
01:04He even accused her of being unfit to be a U.N. special rapporteur.
01:09Well, these sanctions introduced will likely block any assets that Albanese has here in the United States, as well as preventing her from travelling to the country.
01:17It will also likely impact her immediate family.
01:20Albanese, who is an Italian national, has issued a series of letters urging countries to pressure Israel into ending its bombardment of the Gaza Strip.
01:29And recently issued a report naming several U.S. companies, among those aiding what she described as Israel's occupation and war on Gaza.
01:38Well, Rubio's post accused Albanese of anti-Semitism and said, quote,
01:43her campaign of political and economic warfare against the United States and Israel will no longer be tolerated.
01:49We will always stand by our partners in their right to self-defense.
01:53So the U.S. here ratcheting up the pressure and ratcheting up another escalation on its critics of anybody who is speaking out against Israel's war in Gaza.
