The United States has ignited a firestorm of international controversy with its decision to impose sanctions on three prominent Palestinian human rights organizations—Al Haq, Al Mezan Center for Human Rights, and the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR). Announced by Secretary of State Marco Rubio on September 4, 2025, the move comes in direct response to these groups’ efforts to involve the International Criminal Court (ICC) in investigating alleged Israeli war crimes in Gaza. The sanctions, rooted in an executive order signed by President Donald Trump earlier this year, have been met with swift and sharp condemnation from Palestinian officials, human rights advocates, and global institutions.
According to the US Treasury Department, the three organizations were targeted for “directly engag[ing] in efforts by the International Criminal Court (ICC) to investigate, arrest, detain, or prosecute Israeli nationals, without Israel’s consent.” Secretary Rubio’s statement, posted on the Treasury’s website, further warned, “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.”
The backdrop to this dramatic escalation is a series of legal and diplomatic maneuvers that have intensified scrutiny of Israel’s military actions in Gaza. In November 2023, Al Haq, Al Mezan, and PCHR filed a lawsuit with the ICC, urging the international court to investigate Israeli airstrikes on densely populated areas, the ongoing siege of Gaza, forced displacement, the alleged use of toxic gas, and the denial of basic necessities such as food and water. Their case pressed the ICC to issue arrest warrants for Israeli leaders over what the groups described as “war crimes and crimes against humanity, including genocide.”
The ICC responded in November 2024 by issuing arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, citing charges that included “starvation as a method of warfare” and other crimes against humanity. The court also issued a warrant for Mohammed Deif, a Hamas official accused by Israel of orchestrating the October 7 attacks and who was later reported killed in an airstrike. Israel, for its part, has categorically rejected the genocide accusations, describing them as “a campaign of lies” by Hamas and its allies.
Palestinian officials and the targeted NGOs have decried the US sanctions as an attack on civil society and the pursuit of justice. In a joint statement posted to X, the three organizations condemned the measures as “immoral, illegal and undemocratic,” and accused the US of attempting to “destroy Palestinian institutions working tirelessly for accountability for the victims of Israel’s mass atrocity crimes.” The statement continued, “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 Palestinian Justice Ministry echoed these sentiments, calling the sanctions “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.” The ministry called on Washington to reverse its decision and appealed to the United Nations and international community “to intervene swiftly to protect the Palestinian people and their institutions.”
International reaction has been equally fierce. UN Human Rights Chief Volker Turk labeled the sanctions “completely unacceptable,” warning in a statement that, “For decades now, these NGOs have been performing vital human rights work, particularly on accountability for human rights violations. The sanctions will have a chilling effect not only on civil society in the occupied Palestinian territory and Israel but potentially globally.”
Amnesty International, a long-standing observer of the Israel-Palestine conflict, called the US move a “deeply troubling and shameful assault on human rights and the global pursuit of justice.” Erika Guevara-Rosas, Senior Director for Research, Advocacy, Policy and Campaigns at Amnesty, stated, “These organizations carry out vital and courageous work, meticulously documenting human rights violations under the most horrifying conditions.” She further accused the Trump administration of seeking to “dismantle the very foundation of international justice and shield Israel from accountability for its crimes.”
This latest round of sanctions is not an isolated event. The US has consistently opposed ICC investigations into Israeli actions, having previously sanctioned nine ICC personnel, including chief prosecutor Karim Khan, and implemented visa bans on members of the Palestinian Authority and Palestine Liberation Organization. Just last month, the US sanctioned two ICC judges and two prosecutors, and in June, four more judges were added to the list. The White House has maintained a critical stance toward the Netherlands-based court, which operates under the Rome Statute—a treaty to which neither the US nor Israel is a party.
Secretary Rubio has been unambiguous about the rationale behind the US position. In his words, “These entities have directly engaged in efforts by the ICC to investigate, arrest, detain, or prosecute Israeli nationals, without Israel’s consent.” He has also warned that international recognition of a Palestinian state—announced by France, Canada, and Australia during recent UN meetings—would “create big problems,” especially as Israel moves forward with annexation plans in the occupied West Bank.
The ICC, for its part, has rejected Israel’s challenge to its jurisdiction over the occupied territories, including Gaza, East Jerusalem, and the West Bank, citing the Palestinian leadership’s formal agreement to be bound by the court’s founding principles since 2015. The court’s prosecution has alleged that Prime Minister Netanyahu is responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity, including intentionally targeting civilians and using starvation as a method of war.
The US decision to sanction Palestinian rights groups has also coincided with the revocation of visas for Palestinian Authority officials, effectively barring them from attending the UN General Assembly. This move further strained relations, coming as several Western allies recognized Palestinian statehood, signaling a shift in international attitudes toward the conflict.
As the diplomatic fallout continues, the sanctioned organizations remain defiant. On September 6, 2025, they strongly rejected the US administration’s actions, characterizing the sanctions as an attempt to silence their work and a blow to the broader struggle for human rights and accountability in the region.
With passions running high on all sides, the US sanctions have underscored the deep divisions over international justice, the role of civil society, and the ongoing quest for accountability amid one of the world’s most intractable conflicts.
