Washington (TDI): The Unites States Treasury Department has imposed sanctions on three prominent Palestinian human rights organizations for urging the International Criminal Court (ICC) to investigate Israel’s war crimes in Gaza.
The sanctioned rights groups include Al‑Haq (Ramallah), the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (Gaza), and the Al‑Mezan Center for Human Rights (Gaza).
These three appealed to the ICC in November 2023 to examine Israeli airstrikes on densely populated civilian areas, the siege on Gaza, and the displacement of its residents as war crimes.
In response, the ICC issued arrest warrants in late 2024 for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Force Chief Yoav Gallant, among others, citing war crimes and crimes against humanity.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio justified the sanctions as aligned with US sovereignty and national security. He blamed the ICC as politically motivated and said that the US opposes actions that threaten its sovereignty and that of its allies.
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The decision has drawn sharp criticism. The sanctioned groups issued a joint statement denouncing the measures as cowardly, immoral, illegal and undemocratic. They restated their position that Israel is committing genocide of Palestinians.
In a statement, Amnesty International said: “The Trump administration’s decision to impose sanctions against three prominent Palestinian human rights organizations is a deeply troubling and shameful assault on human rights and the global pursuit of justice.”
These latest sanctions build on a broader US campaign targeting those linked to the ICC’s investigations, which already includes sanctions on ICC judges and the chief prosecutor.
These sanctions appear when more and more countries are preparing to recognize Palestinian statehood at the upcoming 80th General Assembly of the United Nations.
They also come at a time when a global community of genocide scholars have just declared that by all standards and criteria, Israel’s actions in Gaza amount to a genocide.
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