The State Department announced Thursday that its decision to take Francesca Albanese, a United Nations expert on Palestinian territories, off its sanctions list represents a temporary action rather than a shift in policy.
Albanese was placed under U.S. sanctions in July 2025 due to what officials described as her attempts to encourage the International Criminal Court to pursue action against American and Israeli officials, businesses, and executives.
A federal judge issued a temporary block on these sanctions earlier this month, determining that the Trump administration likely infringed upon her constitutional right to free speech by implementing the penalties following her public criticism of Israel’s military operations in Gaza, where Israel is a U.S. ally.
“The Government has appealed the court’s order,” the State Department said in a statement.
“In the event the D.C. Circuit stays or overturns that order, the Government intends to restore Ms. Albanese’s name to the SDN List,” the department added, referring to the Specially Designated Nationals list.
