Palestinian groups sanctioned by the State Dept were funded by Europeans, Soros philanthropy

Three Palestinian groups sanctioned by the State Department for efforts to aid in the International Criminal Court prosecutions of Israeli officials have ties to designated terror groups and received funding from European and foundations affiliated with George Soros. 

Late last week, the State Department announced sanctions against Al Haq, Al Mezan Center for Human Rights (Al Mezan), and the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) – three Palestinian human rights organizations – for giving aid to the International Criminal Court’s effort to “investigate, arrest, detain, or prosecute Israeli nationals, without Israel’s consent.” 

Neither the United States nor Israel are signatories of the treaty that established the court and are therefore not subject to its jurisdiction, the United States argues. 

“This administration has been clear: the United States and Israel are not party to the Rome Statute and are therefore not subject to the ICC’s authority. We oppose the ICC’s politicized agenda, overreach, and disregard for the sovereignty of the United States and that of our allies,” the State Department said in a statement. 

“The ongoing actions of the ICC set a dangerous precedent for all nations, and we will actively oppose actions that threaten our national interests and infringe on the sovereignty of the United States and our allies, including Israel,” the statement also reads.

Less than a month into President Donald Trump’s term, he imposed sanctions on the ICC for its previous actions against U.S. citizens and investigations targeting Israel, a close ally of the United States. 

The announcement last week extends the sanctions to the three Palestinian groups after they filed joint written observations to the ICC in its ongoing proceedings on the “SITUATION IN THE STATE OF PALESTINE.”

In that document, the groups argue that no international agreements prevent the ICC from seeking arrest warrants of Israeli officials. Additionally, they argue that the court should add charges of “genocide, apartheid and crimes related to settlements,” against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant.

All three Palestinian groups fail to disclose their funding sources, but have documented ties to designated terrorist groups and have received awards from several Western governments and American philanthropy organizations, a review of the evidence shows. These funding sources could now be cut off, according to the president's executive order instituting the sanctions. 

Al-Haq, which bills itself as “an independent Palestinian non-governmental human rights organisation” that is based in Ramallah, West Bank, came under fire following the October 7, 2023, Hamas terrorist attack on Israel for justifying and downplaying the violence.

For example, the day after the attack, Al-Haq cosigned a statement that justified the deadly attacks targeting Israeli civilians as “in response to escalating Israeli crimes against the Palestinian people.” Al-Haq was joined by the two other groups sanctioned last week by the State Department. 

Though the group has not fully disclosed its financial records since 2009, reports show that over the last decade it has received funding from a coterie of European governments and U.S.-based philanthropic organizations. According to the Jerusalem-based watchdog NGO Monitor, Al-Haq has received funding at various junctures from France, Italy, Spain, Sweden and the European Union.

Al-Haq also received over $2 million from George Soros’ Open Society Foundations from 2016 to 2020, according to the financial records kept by the George Soros-backed nonprofit.  

Germany also used to fund the organization but made a decision to cut funding in November 2023 over concerns that Al-Haq was supporting armed resistance against Israel. 

A spokesperson for the German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development told the German paper Deutsch Welle that organizations that supported this armed resistance were not appropriate partners. 

Al-Haq was designated a terrorist group by the Israeli government in 2021, alleging that it was part of a "network of organizations” that operates on behalf of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, a Marxist organization that advocates for a one-state solution and which is considered a terrorist organization by both Israel and the United States. 

Israel has alleged that Al-Haq’s general director, Shawn Jabarin, has direct ties to the PFLP, though he denies this. However, Jabarin participated in at least one event hosted by PFLP, and he also appeared on a conference panel alongside the late Hamas leader, Yahya Sinwar, who appeared virtually. 

Similarly, Al Mezan Center for Human Rights is dedicated to promoting “economic, social and cultural rights” in “occupied Palestine,” its website says. It aims to monitor and document violations of human rights or international law in the territories.

The group signed on to the Oct. 8, 2023, statement appearing to justify Hamas’ brutal attack and, according to research from NGO Monitor, is at the center of “anti-Israel lawfare campaigns.” Like Al-Haq, the group appears to have connections to the PFLP terrorist group and does not publicly publish its funding sources. 

The group has received funding from a combination of Western countries and philanthropy organizations, including the European Union, the Netherlands, Diakonia, American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) and Medico International (Germany.)

George Soros’ Open Society Foundations has also awarded Al Mezan more than $1 million from 2019 to 2023 to “support the Grantee's work on monitoring and documenting human rights and International Humanitarian Law violations,” records show. These same activities landed the group in hot water with the State Department.

Open Society Foundations did not respond to a request for comment from Just the News. 

Last year, Open Society Foundations said it “is proud to be among the many international funders of Al Mezan, alongside the European Union and governments including Sweden and the Netherlands,” in a statement to the Washington Examiner. 

The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights has received funding from the broadest range of donors, including France, Ireland, Spain, the European Union, Open Society Institute and several other private organizations throughout Europe. 

The founder and director of PCHR was convicted by an Israeli court in the 1970s of membership in PFLP and imprisoned on four separate occasions by the authorities from 1979 to 1986, NGO Monitor found.

The PCHR, alongside Al-Mezan and Al-Haq, has for years, participated in a campaign at the ICC to have Israel investigated over allegations of genocide, even long before the war between the country and Hamas began. They first submitted research materials to the ICC alleged to contain evidence of Israeli war crimes during its brief conflict with Hamas in 2014.