WASHINGTON — The United States imposed sanctions Wednesday against UN rapporteur on Palestinian rights Francesca Albanese, accusing her of “political and economic warfare” against the US and Israel.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the step against Albanese, an outspoken critic of Israel who has been accused of antisemitic and pro-terror rhetoric, was taken in light of “her illegitimate and shameful efforts to prompt International Criminal Court action against US and Israeli officials, companies, and executives.”

“Albanese’s campaign of political and economic warfare against the United States and Israel will no longer be tolerated. We will always stand by our partners in their right to self-defense,” Rubio tweeted.

He added that the US “will continue to take whatever actions we deem necessary to respond to lawfare and protect our sovereignty and that of our allies.”

Last month, the Trump administration penned a letter to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urging him to remove Albanese from her post, alleging “virulent antisemitism and support for terrorism.”

Albanese, an Italian national, regularly accuses Israel of genocide in Gaza and has said that the October 7, 2023, attacks by Hamas must be put in a “context of decades of oppression imposed on the Palestinians.” She has come under harsh criticism from both the Biden and Trump administrations.

In recent weeks, she has issued a series of letters urging other countries to pressure Israel — including through sanctions — to end its war against Hamas in Gaza.

In 2022, a Times of Israel review of her public statements found that she had accused a “Jewish lobby” of controlling the United States, compared Israelis to Nazis and expressed support for Hamas being taken off a terror blacklist, as well as appearing to defend armed Palestinian resistance against Israel.

Rubio’s announcement came as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was on a four-day trip to Washington aimed at achieving progress on hostage-ceasefire talks, as US President Donald Trump ramps up calls for a deal to end the war.

This is not the first time the Trump administration has targeted international legal officials over their actions regarding Israel.

In February, the US slapped sanctions on ICC chief prosecutor Karim Khan over his decision to file arrest warrants against Netanyahu and former defense minister Yoav Gallant.

Khan’s US-based assets were frozen and he was barred from entering the country. He lost access to his email, his bank accounts were frozen and his American staffers were told they were at risk of arrest if they were to enter the US, The Associated Press reported in May.

The designation was in line with Trump’s executive order ordering sanctions against the ICC as a whole.