US sanctions Palestinian rights groups for supporting ICC Israel probe

Sep 05, 2025 News

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…as 75 killed in Gaza on Thursday

 

Aljazeera – The United States has added three prominent Palestinian rights groups, Al-Haq, Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) and Al-Mezan Center for Human Rights to its sanctions list.

The groups were added to the Department of the Treasury’s “Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List” on Thursday.

In a subsequent statement, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the rights groups were targeted for having “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 previously sanctioned the ICC in response to its investigation and subsequent arrest warrants issued for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant for alleged war crimes committed in Gaza.

All three groups had provided evidence on Israeli abuses in the case.

“The United States will continue to respond with significant and tangible consequences to protect our troops, our sovereignty, and our allies from the ICC’s disregard for sovereignty, and to punish entities that are complicit in its overreach,” Rubio said.

The Ramallah-based Al-Haq has been a leading organisation both in the occupied Palestinian territory and internationally seeking accountability for Israeli abuses, while leading litigation in several countries.

The Gaza City-based Palestinian Centre for Human Rights and the Al-Mezan Center for Human Rights have been leading independent organisation that have documented Israel’s ongoing war in Gaza.

In a statement shared by all three organisations, they condemned “in the strongest terms the draconian sanctions” imposed by the Trump administration.

“These measures in times of live genocide against our People, is a coward[ly], immoral, illegal and undemocratic act,” the statement said.

“Only states with complete disregard to international law and our shared humanity can take such heinous measures against human rights orgs working to end a genocide,” the statement said.

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

“Shameful but not surprising,” Farshneshani wrote. “This administration bends over backwards to put Israel First every time.”

The US previously sanctioned the Ramallah-based Addameer, a human rights organisation focused on Palestinian prisoners and detainees, in June.

At the time, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, which both work closely with the group, said the sanctions “would make day-to-day operations harder and harder, including for their employees, assisted communities and service suppliers. This will also negatively affect their engagement with their partner organizations, locally and internationally, including US-based groups”.

“The US is using its sanctions regime to do the bidding of the Israeli government, which has long systematically sought to muzzle human rights reporting and advocacy,” it added.

In July, the Trump administration also sanctioned the Palestinian Authority (PA), which administers the occupied West Bank, and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), which represents Palestinians internationally.

At the same time, the Trump administration has revoked sanctions imposed under former US President Joe Biden on Israelis from illegal settlements and organisations accused of violence.

75 killed across the enclave

Meanwhile, as terrified residents scattered in the aim of finding shelter from the bombs, Israeli military spokesperson Brigadier General Effie Defrin said that troops held 40 percent of the city.

The operation, he said, would “continue to expand and intensify” in the coming days.

Al Jazeera’s Sanad fact-checking agency analysed satellite images that showed the “heavy presence” of more than 52 Israeli army vehicles in the Zeitoun neighbourhood.

The images, dating from August 25 and September 1, demonstrate a clear pattern of forced displacement of residents from northern and central Gaza City towards the west – in particular, along al-Rashid Street and the beach.

Palestinians who have fled Gaza City over the past few months have found dire conditions further south, where the mass movement of people has further overcrowded tent camps and pushed prices of basic goods much higher.

Shorouk Abu Eid, a pregnant woman from Gaza City, who was displaced to Khan Younis four months ago, said the arrival of more people from the north has worsened their plight.

“There is no privacy, no peace of mind,” she told The Associated Press news agency.

In any case, fleeing Palestinians are likely to encounter death and destruction wherever they go.

On Thursday, Israel also bombed central Gaza’s Nuseirat refugee camp, killing seven people, including three children.

And in southern Rafah, Israeli forces fired at a group of people seeking aid near an aid distribution point, killing seven and injuring more.

Across the enclave, 75 people were killed by Israeli army ground and air attacks since dawn.

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• Gaza, ICC Israel probe, Palestinian, Rights groups, US sanctions

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