Three Palestinian human rights groups that had US sanctions imposed on them for asking the International Criminal Court to investigate Israel over allegations of atrocity crimes in Gaza plan to continue their cooperation with the war crimes tribunal, Reuters reports.
The groups are the Gaza-based Palestinian Centre for Human Rights and Al Mezan Centre for Human Rights, and Al-Haq, based in the West Bank city of Ramallah. The sanctions were posted on the US Treasury Department’s website yesterday and include blocking any provisions of funds, goods or services to them.
Palestinian lawyer Raji Sourani, who runs the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights, called the sanctions “shameful” and said he would not be deterred.
“This is our reaction: business as usual, we are just in the court doing what we have to do,” Sourani told reporters outside the ICC after meeting its deputy prosecutor.
The ICC office of the prosecutor meets regularly with NGOs that have submitted legal filings to the court.
