The United States has implemented sanctions against three Palestinian human rights organizations that requested the International Criminal Court to examine allegations of genocide in Gaza. The organizations, including the Gaza-based Palestinian Center for Human Rights, the Al Mezan Center for Human Rights, and the Ramallah-based Al-Haq, were added to the list of international criminal court-related designations by the US Treasury Department.
The organizations had formally requested the ICC in November of 2023 to investigate Israeli airstrikes on densely populated civilian areas in Gaza, as well as the siege of the territory and the resulting displacement of the population.
Affirmatively, in the span of a year, the ICC issued arrest warrants for Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s current Prime Minister, his former defense chief Yoav Gallant, and a Hamas leader, Ibrahim al-Masri, due to alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity.
The US government, under Donald Trump’s administration, had previously sanctioned ICC judges and the Chief Prosecutor due to the Israeli arrest warrants and a decision to investigate alleged war crimes committed by US troops in Afghanistan.
The ICC, established in 2002, can prosecute war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide in its 125 member states, but its jurisdiction is not recognized by countries such as the US, China, Russia, and Israel.
The US sanctions against these Palestinian organizations occur shortly after genocide scholars, the world’s biggest academic association, passed a resolution claiming that the legal criteria have been fulfilled to confirm that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza.
Both Israel and Hamas have denied these allegations, with Hamas calling the announcement denigrating and reliant on falsehoods. The conflict began in October 2023 when Hamas launched an attack on southern Israel, resulting in 1,200 deaths and the abduction of 250 hostages. Since then, Israel’s military campaign in Gaza has led to approximately 63,000 fatalities, the displacement of a significant number of residents, and a starvation crisis in various parts of the Gaza Strip.
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/sep/04/us-sanctions-palestinian-human-rights
