US sanctions three Palestinian rights groups over ICC cases
The US State Department on Thursday added three prominent Palestinian rights groups — Al-Haq, the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR), and Al-Mezan Center for Human Rights — to its sanctions list, accusing them of involvement in what it claimed to be the “illegitimate targeting of Israel” by the International Court of Justice (ICC).
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said later that the organizations were sanctioned for “directly engaging in efforts by the ICC to investigate, arrest, detain, or prosecute Israeli nationals, without Israel’s consent.”
The Trump administration had earlier sanctioned the ICC in response to its probe and arrest warrants issued against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former minister of military affairs Yoav Gallant for alleged war crimes in Gaza. All three Palestinian groups had submitted evidence in the case.
In a joint statement, the three groups condemned the “draconian sanctions” as a “cowardly, immoral, illegal and undemocratic act” amid what they described as genocide against Palestinians.
The US had previously sanctioned the prisoner rights group Addameer in June, followed in July by measures against the Palestinian Authority and the Palestine Liberation Organization, while simultaneously lifting sanctions on Israeli settlers and organizations accused of violence.