A United Nations human rights specialist who likened living in the Palestinian territories to being in an “open-air prison” has been commended by Hamas for “shedding light on Israeli crimes” in her maiden report to the body’s Human Rights Council.

Francesca Albanese, the UN’s “special rapporteur on the human rights situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territories”, claimed in the report that “arbitrary and deliberate ill-treatment is inflicted upon the Palestinians” both inside and outside of detention.

Delivering her report in Geneva, Albanese told delegates: “Under Israeli occupation, generations of Palestinians have endured widespread and systematic arbitrary deprivation of liberty, often for the simplest acts of life and the exercise of fundamental human rights.”

At a briefing for journalists, she reportedly added: “There is no other way to define the regime that Israel has imposed on the Palestinians — which is apartheid by default — other than an open-air prison.”

Francesca Albanese

Albanese was appointed the UN Human Rights Council's Special Rapporteur on Palestine in 2022 (Photo: YouTube)

Her comments were warmly received by the terror group Hamas, which said in a statement: “We hail the speech of Francesca Albanese… [She] shed light on the Israeli crimes and violations against the Palestinian people that have turned the occupied Palestinian territories into an open-air prison where all forms of discrimination and apartheid are exercised against the Palestinian people.

“Hamas calls on the international community and the United Nations to work towards a just solution for the Palestinian people and impose sanctions on the rogue state of the Israeli occupation. The UN must take more measures to hold the Israeli occupation leaders accountable for crimes and violations against the Palestinian people.”

Israel’s permanent mission to the UN in Geneva rejected the contents of Albanese’s report, saying: “Israel does not expect any fair, objective or professional treatment from this special rapporteur who was chosen due to her partial views against Israel.

“[Albanese’s] mandate was created with the sole purpose of discriminating against Israel and Israelis”.