Israel thanks US for sanctioning prominent Palestinian rights groups

Israel's UN ambassador has said that he welcomes Washington's imposition of sanctions on three prominent Palestinian human rights organisations. "Palestinian organisations worked not only against us but against the United States and the entire West," he said.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar has also said that he feels grateful to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio for Washington's decision to impose sanctions on three Palestinian organisations.

Sa'ar said, "the International Criminal Court has been assisted by Palestinian organisations in its politicised campaign against us." 

The United States has added three Palestinian rights groups to its sanctions list for having “directly engaged in efforts by the International Criminal Court (ICC) to investigate, arrest, detain, or prosecute Israeli nationals, without Israel’s consent”.

Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR), Al-Haq, and Al-Mezan Centre for Human Rights were added to the Department of the Treasury’s “Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List” on Thursday.