European states criticise UN expert over alleged Israel remarksAlbanese denies calling Israel a 'common enemy of humanity'US sanctions freeze Albanese's assetsA UN human rights spokesperson expressed concern yesterday about ​attacks on independent UN experts ‌after several European governments criticised the organisation's special rapporteur for ‌Palestine, Francesca Albanese, ⁠and called for ‌her resignation.This follows condemnation from ‌Germany, France and Italy this week of Albanese's alleged criticism of Israel. ⁠Albanese, an Italian lawyer, denies making the remarks."We are very worried. We are concerned that UN officials, independent experts and judicial officials, are increasingly subjected to personal attacks, threats and misinformation that distracts from the serious human rights issues," UN human rights office spokesperson Marta Hurtado told a press briefing when asked about the criticism.UN experts are commissioned by the ​Geneva-based Human Rights Council to monitor and document specific human rights crises but are independent of the organisation itself.Yesterday, the Czech Republic's Foreign Minister Petr Macinka quoted ‌Albanese on X as ⁠having called Israel ​a "common enemy of humanity", and he also called for her ​resignation.A transcript of Albanese's remarks made on February 7 seen by Reuters did not characterise Israel in this way, although she has consistently criticised the country in the past over the Gaza conflict.German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said on Thursday that Albanese's position was "untenable", while French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot accused her of making "outrageous and reprehensible remarks" against Israel.Albanese said in overnight remarks on X: "Three European governments accuse me — based on statements I never ‌made — with a virulence and conviction ‌that they have never ⁠used against those who have slaughtered 20,000+ children in 858 days."She was citing ⁠figures from the Palestinian ⁠Health Ministry, which puts the total death toll from the Gaza war at more than 72,000.US President Donald Trump's administration imposed sanctions on Albanese after she wrote letters to US companies accusing them of contributing to gross human rights violations by Israel in Gaza and the West Bank.Albanese, whose term expires ​in 2028, is due to speak at the Rights Council in Geneva next month on Palestinian rights.There is no precedent for removing a special rapporteur during their term, although diplomats said that states on the 47-member council could in theory propose a motion to do so.However, they said strong support for Palestinian rights within the body means that such a motion was unlikely to pass.