Israel slams Francesca Albanese's 'grotesque accusations' before Irish parliament

"UN special rapporteur Francesca Albanese has drawn renewed condemnation from Israel and Jewish representatives in Ireland after accusing Israel of widespread abuses, including allegations involving dogs trained to sexually assault Palestinian Arabs, during testimony before an Irish parliamentary committee this week.

Addressing the Irish parliament's Committee on European Affairs this past week, Albanese made a series of accusations against Israel, alleging a longstanding pattern of violence and mistreatment.

‘Israel has always killed children, extrajudicial killings, arbitrary detention, the use of torture, even rape.’

‘It’s destroying the people, the living. You know it when you read the testimonies of people who have been tortured, have been raped, raped by dogs trained in European countries,’ she said.

Her remarks appeared to reference allegations published earlier this year in a New York Times column, which Israel categorically rejected as ‘blood libel.’

‘European people are profiting from selling dogs that will rape people. This is abysmal, and instead of having a system using our rule of law to prevent this, there are people who are in jail for denouncing the system,’ Albanese claimed, without providing proof of her accusations.

She also urged the Irish government to ‘show its spine’ in its opposition to Israel.

Israel's Foreign Ministry sharply rejected the allegations, describing Albanese as ‘an unhinged conspiracy theorist consumed by her obsessive hatred of Israel.’

‘Her vile lies and grotesque accusations are a disgrace to the UN,’ the ministry stated.

The Jewish Representative Council of Ireland also criticized Albanese and the Irish parliament, known as the Oireachtas, for providing her with a platform without challenging her assertions.

‘She dismissed documented antisemitism against Irish Jews on national radio, then appeared before an Oireachtas committee making a series of outrageous, unsubstantiated allegations,’ the council said.

‘Not one demand for evidence. Not one challenge to her most shocking claims. Instead, she got praise, admiration and smiling photographs,’ it added..."