US imposes sanctions on the Palestinian Authority, one week after PMW report
The US sanctioned the PA last year following PMW's report to Marco Rubio documenting extensive PA contacts with ICC (July 2025)
Yesterday, the US renewed the sanctions against the PA, one week after PMW's new report was sent to the State Department, documenting continued and increased PA contacts with the ICC
PMW's report showed that the PA has continued to work against Israel through the ICC in violation of US President Trump's Executive Order, defying US demands
PMW's report showed that the PA has continued unabated to submit "evidence" and additional requests to the ICC
The full report on the year's activities follows below. Here is a partial timeline of selected examples:
PLO's Palestinian National Monitoring Center assisted the PA in filing lawsuits at the ICJ and ICC (August 2026)
PA announced a new governmental framework called the Palestinian National Monitoring Center for the purpose of coordinating and organizing evidence to present to the ICC (July 2026)
"International team of lawyers representing the Palestinian people submitted an urgent memorandum" to the ICC (May 2026)
"Details are constantly being added to strengthen and update" the legal case against Israel at the ICC (February 2026)
PLO ambassador admitted PLO/PA contact with the ICC (October 2025)
PA-controlled committee collected and transferred "documentation" of Israel's "crimes" which it intends to "submit" to the ICC (October 2025)
"The international legal team submitted on behalf of the Palestinian people its 29th annex" to the ICC (September 2025)
"An urgent addendum to the Office of the ICC Chief Prosecutor" was submitted by "the international legal team representing the Palestinian people" (August 2025)
In open defiance of President Donald Trump, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and US law, which calls for sanctions on governments and individuals who work with the International Criminal Court (ICC) against the US and its allies, the Palestinian Authority has established a new dedicated governmental body to prepare evidence of "Israel's crimes" for submission to the ICC.
On Feb. 6, 2025, President Trump signed Executive Order 14203, which calls for "tangible and significant consequences" to be enforced against "any foreign person [including governments]… to have directly engaged in any effort by the ICC to investigate, arrest, detain, or prosecute a protected person," including "our close ally Israel."
In July 2025, Secretary of State Rubio announced sanctions against the PA and PLO for their ongoing violations of President Trump's Executive Order by their engagement with the ICC. The sanctions followed a detailed report by Palestinian Media Watch sent to Secretary of State Rubio, which documented the PA's violations.
Nevertheless, in spite of President Trump and Secretary of State Rubio's sanctions, the PA has continued to actively work with and supply the ICC with material to prosecute Israel. And in a show of complete contempt for the US, the PA has now established a new governmental body called the Palestinian National Monitoring Center for the sole purpose of preparing evidence for the ICC. It includes "a group of researchers, 65 legal experts who travel throughout" Israeli and Palestinian territories "to provide legal documentation... This is important because there are several lawsuits pending today in international courts, including the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and the International Criminal Court (ICC)" [PA Spokesman, Official PA TV, Aug. 16, 2026].
PMW's report came at a significant time, as the PA had requested that the US cancel the sanctions and allow PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas to travel to the UN General Assembly meetings this month, September 2026. PMW sent the main findings to the State Department last week, and as mentioned, the US renewed the sanctions on the PA, citing the PA's contacts with the ICC.
The following are examples of contacts with and collection of evidence for the ICC by the PA, the PLO, and the "international legal team representing the Palestinian people," since PMW's last update to Secretary of State Marco Rubio in July 2025.
"Government of the State of Palestine Announcement:
Under the auspices of His Excellency, President Mahmoud Abbas, and in the presence of Prime Minister Muhammad Mustafa, the PLO's Department of Human Rights and Civil Society launched the Palestinian National Monitoring Center for documenting violations of international humanitarian law and human rights by the occupation – today [29/07/26] at the Ramallah Municipality Hall...
In his speech as the president's representative, the prime minister said: …
'Our national responsibility is not limited to conveying what is happening, but also to documenting it methodically and professionally, verifying it, and turning individual facts into solid evidence...'
Mustafa thanked the PLO's Department of Human Rights and Civil Society, led by Ahmad Said Bayyoud Al-Tamimi, and all the national institutions and partners who contributed to the completion of this project...
PLO Executive Committee member and Department of Human Rights and Civil Society Director Ahmad Al-Tamimi confirmed that the launch of the Palestinian National Monitoring Center fulfills a national vision that addresses an urgent need to unify efforts to document Israeli violations in accordance with international legal standards and noted that the center will be a national authority for preserving memory, maintaining evidence and testimonies, and strengthening Palestine's ability to pursue perpetrators of crimes before international courts and legal mechanisms...
Al-Tamimi added that the monitoring center... aims to build a secure national database that preserves documents and evidence and to prepare legal files and reports that contribute to establishing international accountability.
Attorney General, National Documentation Team Director, and Legal Advisor Akram Al-Khatib confirmed that the monitoring center will in the future be a central source for the work of the national team specializing in crimes within the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court – under the management of the attorney general's office, focusing on collecting, documenting, and verifying all facts and information related to crimes committed by the occupation on the land of the State of Palestine in a way that contributes to building solid legal files that meet the requirements of proof and accountability."
[Government of the State of Palestine, official website, July 29, 2026]
The PLO has provided the ICC with dozens of documents and will continue to work with the ICC.
Head of PLO Department of Human Rights Qassem Awad: "We have dozens of documents, recordings, and records that were provided to the International Criminal Court (ICC)… Recently, we in the PLO Human Rights Department established a huge national database [the Palestinian National Monitoring Center] dealing with all forms of [Israeli] crime according to the borders of June 4, 1967, and this will be announced and launched at the start of next month [August 2026] under the auspices of His Excellency President Mahmoud Abbas Abu Mazen… We are strengthening our international relations with international legal institutions and expanding the sphere of pursuit of war criminals among the occupation's (i.e., Israel's) leaders. We are also preparing to conduct a trial according to the [Rome] Statute for Justice and the Law of Nations in addition to continuing our efforts at the International Criminal Court and at the EU Court of Justice."
[Voice of Palestine Radio, Facebook page, July 20, 2026]
A PA spokesman admitted that the PLO's National Monitoring Center assisted the PA in filing lawsuits at the ICJ and ICC.
PA spokesman and Government Media Center Director and spokesman Dr. Muhammad Abu Al-Rub: "I want to emphasize another important point regarding the Palestinian National Monitoring Center, which was launched by the PLO and was announced a few weeks ago. Today there is a group of researchers, 65 legal experts who travel throughout the West Bank and Gaza Strip. The idea is not only to monitor and document the occupation's (i.e., Israel's) crimes but to provide legal documentation according to the standards accepted in international courts. This is important because there are several lawsuits pending today in international courts, including the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and the International Criminal Court (ICC)… When you provide materials and sworn testimonies, which are uploaded to the Palestinian National Monitoring Center's website in several languages, that is also an important effort at documentation that assists legal and human rights institutions, contributes to the Palestinian diplomatic effort, and assists countries currently participating with us in filing [at the ICC]."
[Official PA TV, Topic of the Day, Aug. 16, 2026]
Former PA justice minister and current member of the PA's interim constitution drafting committee, Dr. Muhammad Shalaldeh, discussed the filing of "personal and collective lawsuits" and the "transfer of documentation" to many legal systems, including the ICC.
Dr. Muhammad Shalaldeh, former PA Minister of Justice: "There is a case being conducted before the International Court of Justice (ICC), and we are waiting for the ICC to issue a ruling regarding the accusation of Israel committing the crime of genocide [in Gaza]...
As the Palestinian people and as victims exposed daily to the most severe and serious violations by the settlers, we have only the option to turn to the ICC. Proper legal and scientific documentation must be carried out, based on legal and scientific foundations, to file personal and collective lawsuits before national judicial systems, local courts, regional instances, and before the global judicial system, represented through the principle of universal jurisdiction… It is time to activate the legal, judicial, political, diplomatic, and economic mechanisms, including imposing a boycott, against the occupying regime… What Israel is doing in the city of Jerusalem is considered a violation... The time has come for us to act to prosecute and pursue them legally, through documenting these recurring crimes, and by transferring them to the ICC together with very important documents."
[Official PA TV, Aug. 18, 2026]
Since Rubio's sanctions, the international legal team assisting and "representing the Palestinian people" at the ICC has continued to submit material against Israel to the court (December 2025).
"A responsible source in the International Prosecutor's Office... confirmed that today, Dec. 8, 2025, the international legal team, which is acting under power of attorney from the Palestinian Bar Association as the legal representative of the Palestinian people, submitted the second annex to the complaint previously filed with the Chief Prosecutor's Office of the International Criminal Court (ICC) on Feb. 12, 2025 concerning severe and systematic violations in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem."
[PNN, independent Palestinian news agency, Dec. 8, 2025]
"Since its appointment in October 2023, the international legal team, which represents the Palestinian people before the International Prosecutor's Office and the ICC, continues to conduct complex legal and political struggles for the just Palestinian cause and the Palestinian people."
[PNN, independent Palestinian news agency, Dec. 8, 2025]
The legal team assisting the PA has continued to submit requests to the ICC (December 2025).
"The annex also includes an urgent and unprecedented request of the Chief Prosecutor's Office to submit a request to the ICC Pre-Trial Division to issue an arrest warrant against current Israeli Minister of War (i.e., Defense) Israel Katz in accordance with Articles 58 and 28 of the Rome Statute in order to put him on trial for his command responsibility for what the legal team described as war crimes and crimes against humanity that were committed under his direct supervision since he took office on Nov. 6, 2024… International legal team director Dr. Faisal Khazaal said: 'The team attached to the memorandum the documents (Annexes 1 to 17) [parentheses in source] that cover November-December 2025… This annex presents additional evidence…"
[PNN, independent Palestinian news agency, Dec. 8, 2025]
"Details are constantly being added to strengthen and update" the legal case against Israel at the ICC (February 2026).
PA-controlled Committee to Resist Settlements and the Wall Legal Advisor Ayed Morrar: "There is a legal case that is prepared in all its details at the International Criminal Court (ICC), and details are constantly being added to strengthen and update it."
[Official PA TV, Palestine This Morning, May 18, 2026]
PA-controlled Committee to Resist Settlements and the Wall Legal Advisor Ayed Morrar: "There is engagement in documenting the violations and strengthening the criminal case [against Israel] at the International Criminal Court (ICC)and continuously renewing the case, so that perhaps this court will carry out its responsibility and start an investigation to punish these extremists, murderers, and criminals for their crimes."
[Official PA TV, Topic of the Day, Feb. 4, 2026]
An "international team of lawyers representing the Palestinian people submitted an urgent memorandum" to the ICC (May 2026).
Headline: "International team of lawyers submits memorandum to the International Criminal Court [entitled] ‘"Israel Antiquities Authority" (sic., Judea and Samaria Heritage Authority) – a war crime and annexation of the West Bank'"
"The international team of lawyers representing the Palestinian people at the Office of International Criminal Court (ICC) Chief Prosecutor [Karim Khan], led by Kuwaiti Dr. Faisal Khazaal... submitted an urgent memorandum demanding to launch an urgent investigation into the fact that the Israeli Parliament approved on May 12, 2026, a law to establish the 'Judea and Samaria Heritage Authority.'... The team attached this memorandum to the complaint file dealing with the occupied Palestinian West Bank at the Office of the [ICC] Chief Prosecutor."[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, May 17, 2026]
In the months following Rubio's sanctions of the PA in July, the PA's "international legal team" continued to submit "supplementary evidence" to the ICC (August 2025).
"The international team of lawyers representing the Palestinian people at the Office of International Criminal Court (ICC) Chief Prosecutor [Karim Khan]… submitted an urgent addendum to the Office of the ICC Chief Prosecutor under the title ‘Systematic starvation, water deprivation, and legal persecution of Palestinians by Israel'…"
[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Aug. 11, 2025]
"The International legal team submitted on behalf of the Palestinian people its 29th annex" to the ICC, claiming they have evidence proving that the Israeli leaders "knew in advance about the Oct. 7, 2023 attacks" and did nothing so that it could justify a war against Gaza (September 2025).
"Yesterday, Wednesday, [Sept. 3, 2025,] the international team of lawyers representing the Palestinian people at the Office of International [Criminal Court (ICC) Chief] Prosecutor [Karim Khan] and at the ICC submitted a legal annex titled 'Supplementary Evidence of the Criminal Responsibility of the Israeli Leadership, Its Prior Knowledge [of Oct. 7, 2023], and Its Deliberate Inaction Before Oct. 7, 2023' (i.e., Hamas' massacre and launch of terror war).
The team, which was authorized by the Palestinian Bar Association, submitted on behalf of the Palestinian people its 29th annexto the complaint that was filed with the Office of the International Prosecutor on Dec. 6, 2023 with new and decisive evidence.[This evidence] proves the criminal responsibility of the highest levels of the Israeli leadership, specifically on everything regarding how the occupation (i.e., Israeli) leadership knew in advance about the Oct. 7, 2023 attacks, and its deliberate inaction in the period preceding the attacks, with the aim of exploiting the events for a large-scale and systematic attack against the Palestinian residents of the Gaza Strip."
[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Sept. 4, 2025]
The PLO ambassador bragged that the PLO/PA "put in long and in-depth work" for submissions to the ICC (October 2025).
PLO Ambassador to the Netherlands Ammar Hijazi: "We joined [the court case] as a party that conveyed the situation in the land of Palestine to the [International Criminal] Court (ICC). We joined as part of the response to the false Israeli claims and these appeals, and we put in long and in-depth work as part of the responses, in which we clarified the ICC's authorities, and what is happening, and that the procedures are proper. In them we also clarified the extent of the crimes, and we demanded that the ICC expedite the handling of these matters, and stop the procrastination that Israel is striving to maintain."
[Official PA TV, Oct. 18, 2025]
A PA-controlled committee collects and transfers "documentation" of Israel's "crimes" to the ICC (October 2025).
PA-controlled Committee to Resist Settlements and the Wall Legal Advisor Ayed Morrar: "We in the [PA-controlled] Committee to Resist Settlements and the Wall document all the crimes committed by the occupation authorities... Documentation [of these crimes] is being carried out and transferred to the consuls of the foreign states, the media outlets, and the criminal case [that was submitted] to the International Criminal Court (ICC).We are strengthening [this case] with [documentation] of these crimes."
[Official PA TV, Oct. 26, 2025]
A PA-controlled committee encouraged documentation of Israeli violations for submission to the ICC (October 2025).
PA-controlled Committee to Resist Settlements and the Wall Legal Advisor Salah Al-Khawaja: "Documentation is important in order to monitor all the [Israeli] violations occurring so that it will be possible to submit them to all the legal institutions… and in order to pressure ICC General Prosecutor [Karim Khan]."
[Official PA TV, Facebook page, Oct. 18, 2025]