The Trump administration has announced sanctions against members of the Palestinian Authority (PA) and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), accusing them of supporting “terrorism” and undermining peace efforts. The sanctions, which deny visas to members of either organization, aim to hold the PLO and PA accountable for not complying with their commitments and destabilizing the prospects for peace.
“It is in our national security interests to impose consequences and hold the PLO and PA accountable for not complying with their commitments and undermining the prospects for peace,” the State Department stated. The decision is based on the groups’ alleged violations of international agreements, including the Middle East Peace Commitments Act of 2002.
The State Department specifically denounced the PA and PLO for seeking to “internationalize its conflict with Israel” by seeking relief at the International Criminal Court and the International Court of Justice. They also accused the groups of “continuing to support terrorism including incitement and glorification of violence” and “providing payments and benefits in support of terrorism to Palestinian terrorists and their families”. Textbooks were cited as an example of how these groups have allegedly supported “terrorism”.
This move comes amid Israel’s ongoing war in Gaza, which has resulted in the deaths of over 60,000 Palestinians, with many more at risk of dying from hunger due to Israel’s blockade. The conflict has also led to increased violence against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, with nearly 1,000 Palestinians killed in attacks by settlers and Israeli armed forces.
The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, based on accusations of war crimes in Gaza. Other countries, including South Africa, have brought cases before the International Court of Justice alleging that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza.
The US has been a strong ally of Israel throughout the conflict, supplying the Israeli government with billions of dollars in military aid and opposing efforts in international court to bring Israel to account for human rights abuses. However, Palestine is a non-member observer state at the UN, which governs the International Court of Justice, and a member of the Rome Statute, the founding document of the International Criminal Court.
The State Department’s order comes as several Western countries, including France, the United Kingdom, and Canada, pledge to recognize Palestine’s statehood at the upcoming UN General Assembly in September. Trump has dismissed such efforts as inconsequential, warning that recognition of Palestinian statehood would serve as a “reward” to Hamas, a group that has fought the Palestinian Authority for power.
The US has recently issued a series of sanctions targeting individuals and entities critical of Israel. In June, it sanctioned judges on the International Criminal Court involved in the decision to issue arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant. Earlier this month, it sanctioned UN special rapporteur Francesca Albanese, who monitors the human rights situation for Palestinians, accusing her of waging a “campaign of political and economic warfare against the United States and Israel”. The UN’s human rights chief, Volker Turk, responded by calling for an end to the “attacks and threats” faced by international observers.
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