Palestinian Authority defies US and rejects US sanctions
The Palestinian Authority has responded to renewed US sanctions by openly declaring that it "rejects" US opinion and will continue the very same proscribed activity that prompted the sanctions—pursuing Israel through the International Criminal Court.
On Sept. 16, 2026, the US renewed visa restrictions, prohibiting entry of PA and PLO officials to the US. The decision came one week after Palestinian Media Watch submitted evidence to the US State Department documenting the PA's continued and increased cooperation with the ICC despite earlier American sanctions.
Rather than agreeing to end cooperation with the ICC, the PA defended it in an unambiguous declaration of defiance of the US:
"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates expressed the State of Palestine's rejection of the decision announced by the US State Department to extend visa restrictions …
The State of Palestine rejects the claim that the Palestinian people's recourse to the United Nations, the International Court of Justice, and the International Criminal Court constitutes an act that undermines peace. It stressed that resorting to international institutions and international law is a legitimate right of the State of Palestine and a peaceful, legal means to protect the Palestinian people and their rights."
[WAFA, official PA news agency, English edition, Sept. 17, 2026]
As PMW documented, the PA has recently expanded its efforts at the ICC by establishing the Palestinian National Monitoring Center—a dedicated framework that collects evidence and prepares legal material for the ICC.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio's statement imposing sanctions, in addition to listing the ICC in particular, also mentioned the PA's "continuing to pay stipends to terrorists and to glorify acts of terrorism and terrorists in public pronouncements and school textbooks."
PMW has likewise supplied ample evidence to the US, Israel, and other governments of PA complicity in all of these categories:
Proof that the PA has continued Pay-for-Slay in 2026:
Palestinian Authority prioritizes terrorists' salaries over salaries for working employees
Fatah spokesman: "We didn't stop" Pay-for-Slay (we actively hide it from the US)
Released terrorist: It will be impossible to recruit terrorists without Pay-for-Slay
Martyrs' families receiving double Pay-for-Slay allowances
Palestinian radio: Shh… Don't admit Pay-for-Slay continues because PMW is listening
Palestinian Authority pays terrorists of "the three fighting sectors"
Proof that PA schools celebrate terror and even celebrated October 7
Proof the PA continues to glorify terror with dozens of examples in the daily bulletins of 2026 alone
Significantly, while the PA defended its ICC activity, it did not even attempt to defend its Pay-for-Slay program or its glorification of terrorists—the other categories exposed by PMW. The PA clearly understands that its support for terror, including its schools' celebration of Oct. 7, is indefensible. Faced with PMW's extensive evidence, it prefers either to deny that this support exists or to remain silent.