The Palestinian NGOs Network (PNGO) condemns in the strongest terms the US administration's decision to impose a series of punitive measures against the International Criminal Court; a move that coincided with the announcement that the courageous human rights defender Navi Pillay had been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

These measures aim to undermine international justice and enable war criminals to evade prosecution before international judicial bodies and escape accountability.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) had issued arrest warrants for the Prime Minister of the occupying state, Netanyahu, and the former War Minister in his government, Gallant, on charges of committing war crimes and crimes against humanity, including the crime of starvation.

It is evident that the US measures aim to pave the way for protecting Israeli war criminals and enabling them to evade punishment; this is a preemptive move against the possibility that American politicians themselves could face prosecution for potential war crimes.

The US administration's actions aim to replace the rule of law with the law of the jungle.

While PNGO appreciates the stance of the international community, the majority of which has condemned the US administration's actions regarding the Court, it calls upon that community to protect and preserve the Court. It urges the activation of the Court's role in prosecuting Israeli war criminals who have committed acts amounting to genocide in the Gaza Strip, as well as the crimes of settlement expansion, racial discrimination in the West Bank, and other crimes against humanity.

We believe that upholding the International Criminal Court and working to thwart US sanctions against it represents an opportunity for our people - and for all free people worldwide - to raise the banner of freedom and dignity in the face of barbarism and savagery, thereby championing the voices of victims among our own people and elsewhere in the world.

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