GENEVA, July 10, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - The president of the United Nations rights council said Thursday he regretted Washington's decision to sanction an expert appointed by the body over her criticism of US policy on Gaza.

"I regret the decision of the United States Government to impose sanctions on Ms. Francesca Albanese," Swiss ambassador and UN Human Rights Council president Jurg Lauber said in a statement.

His comment came after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Wednesday announced that Washington was sanctioning the outspoken UN special rapporteur on the rights situation in the Palestinian territories "for her illegitimate and shameful efforts to prompt (International Criminal Court) action against US and Israeli officials, companies, and executives".

In a subsequent statement, Rubio slammed the UN expert's strident criticism of the United States and said she recommended to the ICC that arrest warrants be issued targeting Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Rubio also attacked her for "biased and malicious activities," and accused her of having "spewed unabashed antisemitism (and) support for terrorism."

"We will not tolerate these campaigns of political and economic warfare, which threaten our national interests and sovereignty," Rubio said.

No details were immediately released as to what the sanctions entailed.

The announcement came after Washington last month slapped sanctions on four ICC judges, in part over the court's arrest warrant for Netanyahu, barring them from entering the United States and from any property or other interests in the country.

UN Special rapporteurs like Albanese are independent experts who are appointed by the UN rights council but who do not speak on behalf of the United Nations.

She has long faced harsh criticism, allegations of anti-Semitism and demands for her removal from Israel and some of its allies, including the United States, over her relentless criticism and long-standing accusations that Israel is committing "genocide" in Gaza.

The Italy-born expert released a damning report earlier this month denouncing companies -- many of them American -- that she said "profited from the Israeli economy of illegal occupation, apartheid, and now genocide" in the occupied Palestinian territories.

The report provoked a furious response from Israel, while some of the named companies also raised objections.

US ally Israel -- a harsh critic of the UN rights council and Albanese in particular -- on Wednesday commended Rubio's action against the rapporteur.

"Albanese has consistently undermined the credibility of the UN Human Rights Council by promoting false narratives and pushing for illegitimate legal actions that ignore the realities on the ground," Israel's UN Ambassador Danny Danon said.

Lauber stressed in his statement that "special Rapporteurs are an essential instrument of the Council in fulfilling its mandate to promote and protect all human rights worldwide".

"I call on all UN Member States to fully cooperate with the Special Rapporteurs and mandate holders of the Council and to refrain from any acts of intimidation or reprisal against them," he said.