Palestine decries US sanctions on local rights groups as ’serious targeting of civil society’

​​​​​​​By Aysar Alais and Rania Abu Shamala

RAMALLAH, Palestine/ISTANBUL (AA) - Palestine denounced on Friday US sanctions on three local human rights organizations as “unacceptable targeting of the Palestinian civil society.”

On Thursday, the US sanctioned three Palestinian human rights organizations for their role in supporting the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) investigation into Israeli officials for atrocities in the Gaza Strip.

In a statement, the Justice Ministry said the decision “represents a serious and unacceptable targeting of Palestinian civil society and its human rights and humanitarian organizations, which defend human rights under international laws and norms, and document Israeli occupation violations against our people, our land, and our holy sites.”

It urged Washington to reverse the decision and encouraged the international community and the United Nations “to intervene swiftly to protect the Palestinian people and their institutions.”

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Al Haq, the Al Mezan Center for Human Rights and the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) were designated under an executive order signed by President Donald Trump in February, which targeted ICC officials for issuing an arrest warrant against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for war crimes in Gaza.

“These entities have directly engaged in efforts by the ICC to investigate, arrest, detain, or prosecute Israeli nationals, without Israel's consent,” Rubio said in a statement.

“The United States and Israel are not party to the Rome Statute and are therefore not subject to the ICC’s authority,” he said. “We oppose the ICC’s politicized agenda, overreach, and disregard for the sovereignty of the United States and that of our allies.”

The move came days after Washington revoked visas for Palestinian Authority officials, barring them from traveling to New York for this month’s UN General Assembly. That decision followed announcements by several countries, including France, Canada and Australia, that they would recognize a Palestinian state during the UN meetings.

On Thursday, Rubio warned that recognition of Palestine would “create big problems,” as Israel advances with plans to annex the occupied West Bank.

The Israeli army has launched a brutal military offensive on the Gaza Strip, killing more than 64,300 Palestinians in Gaza following a cross-border attack by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023. The military campaign has devastated the enclave, which is facing famine.

Last November, the ICC issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice over its war on the enclave.