The United States has imposed sanctions on the United Nations expert who investigates human rights abuses in occupied Palestinian territories, the latest effort by the Trump administration to punish those who criticize Israel's war in the Gaza Strip.

“It's a dangerous precedent because it creates a chilling effect for all special rapporteurs,” said Agnes Callamard, head of human rights giant Amnesty International and a former UN special rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions.

The Trump administration is imposing sanctions on the UN Human Rights Council special rapporteur Francesca Albanese, an outspoken critic of Israel's military offensive in Gaza. Secretary of State Marco Rubio linked the move to her support for the International Criminal Court (ICC), some of whose judges have already been sanctioned by the US.