US sanctions Palestinian rights groups over ICC cases against Israel

The United States has placed three leading Palestinian rights organisations – Al-Haq, the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR), and Al Mezan – on its sanctions list. The Department of the Treasury confirmed the groups were added on Thursday to its “Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List.”

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the organisations were targeted because they had “directly engaged in efforts by the International Criminal Court (ICC) to investigate, arrest, detain, or prosecute Israeli nationals, without Israel’s consent.”

The Trump administration had earlier imposed sanctions on the ICC after it launched investigations and issued arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant over alleged war crimes in Gaza.