US sanctions Palestinian rights groups for supporting ICC Israel probe

Al-Haq, the Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR), and Al-Mezan Center for Human Rights, three well-known Palestinian rights organizations, have been added to the sanctions list by the US.

On Thursday, the organizations were added to the Department of the Treasury’s “Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List.”

The rights groups were targeted for “directly engaging in efforts by the International Criminal Court (ICC) to investigate, arrest, detain, or prosecute Israeli nationals, without Israel’s consent,” according to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in a subsequent statement.

In response to the ICC’s investigation and subsequent arrest warrants issued for former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for alleged war crimes committed in Gaza, the Trump administration had previously sanctioned the organization.

The three organizations had all provided evidence of Israeli misconduct in the case.

Rubio stated that the United States will continue to respond with “significant and tangible consequences” to defend our troops, our sovereignty, and our allies from the ICC’s disregard for international law and punish those who are allegedly at fault for overreaching.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control has placed severe sanctions against our organizations, including @alhaq_org, @AlMezanCenter &amp, and @pchrgaza / 1.

In addition to leading litigation in several nations, the Ramallah-based Al-Haq has been a leader both within the occupied Palestinian territory and internationally in the fight for accountability for Israeli violations.

The Palestinian Center for Human Rights in Gaza and the Al-Mezan Center for Human Rights are two of the most prominent independent organizations to have documented Israel’s ongoing conflict there.

They condemned “draconian sanctions” imposed by the Trump administration in “the most severe terms,” in a statement shared by all three organizations.

The statement reads, “These measures in times of live genocide against our People are a cowardly], immoral, illegal, and undemocratic act.”

Only states that completely disregard international law and our shared humanity are able to implement such vile measures against human rights organizations that are attempting to end a genocide, according to the statement.

Three of the most well-known Palestinian human rights organizations, including @alhaq_org, @pchrgaza, and @alMezanCenter, have recently received U.S. sanction.

Not surprising but sexist.

This administration always places Israel first, but it always does. pic. twitter.com/ocXBYJllki

Mohsen Farshneshani, a sanctions attorney and advisor at Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN), described the organizations as “three of the most prominent Palestinian human rights organizations” in a post on the social media platform X.

Farshneshani titled his work as “shameful but not surprising.” This administration always puts Israel first, according to the president.

In June, the US granted permission to launch the human rights organization Addameer in Ramallah.

The sanctions “would make day-to-day operations harder and harder, including for their employees, assisted communities, and service suppliers,” according to Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, which both closely collaborate with the organization at the time. Their involvement with their partner organizations, both locally and internationally, including US-based organizations, will also suffer as a result.

The US is “using its sanctions regime to serve the Israeli government,” the statement continued. The Israeli government has long systematically sought to silence human rights advocacy and reporting.

The Palestinian Authority (PA), which governs the occupied West Bank, and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), which represents Palestinians on a global scale, both received sanction from the Trump administration in July.