Geneva( The COW News Digital) Francesca Albanese, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories, has called on the international community to cut all financial and trade ties with Israel over what she described as “genocidal economic practices.”
Speaking at a session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, Albanese presented a detailed report titled “From Occupation Economy to Genocide Economy.” The report exposes how over 60 corporations are complicit in Israel’s systemic oppression of Palestinians, including firms in the arms industry, surveillance technology, heavy machinery, and global finance.
Albanese stated that the current situation in Gaza and the West Bank represents one of the most brutal genocides in modern history. “While a nation is being enriched,” she said, “another is being erased from existence. Genocide, for some, has become a profitable business.”
The report accuses Israel of forcibly displacing Palestinian communities, conducting unlawful killings, expanding illegal settlements, and using military power to dominate and control. It also implicates multinational companies in facilitating these acts for profit, by supplying weapons, surveillance systems, and construction tools.
According to Albanese, the Israeli stock exchange has surged by 200% during the ongoing war, generating over $220 billion in profits. Meanwhile, Palestinians continue to suffer from destruction, displacement, and death. “The international community’s failure to act has allowed corporate entities to fuel and profit from Israeli aggression,” she warned.
The report also emphasizes that Israel’s military-industrial complex is the backbone of its economy. Continuous armed operations serve as testing grounds for new weapons and surveillance technologies, which are later marketed globally as “battle-tested.”
Albanese urged all states and private companies to immediately disengage from Israel’s economy, stating, “If moral responsibility had been upheld, these companies would have already severed ties.” She demanded that corporations complicit in rights violations face legal consequences and be held accountable under international law.
The report concludes with a call for urgent global action: impose sanctions, enforce arms embargoes, and launch investigations into businesses profiting from the occupation and genocide. Albanese stressed that economic pressure is one of the few tools left to halt the ongoing atrocities.
