Barclays and BP are hardly strangers to criticism. But even those UK PLC heavyweights must have been taken aback when last week – along with the likes of Google, Amazon and educational institutions such as the the University of Edinburgh – they were accused by the United Nations of exploiting an “economy of genocide” by maintaining ties with Israel.

The Trump administration has announced it is issuing sanctions against an independent investigator tasked with probing human rights abuses in the Palestinian territories.

HuffPost first reported the planned move against Francesca Albanese that comes amid a Washington visit by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

In recent months, Albanese has made strong statements against Israel's actions in Gaza. She accused Israel of launching a "genocidal campaign" in Gaza, and criticised the US for supporting Israel.