People stand outside the International Criminal Court (ICC) as the United States is considering imposing sanctions as soon as this week against the entire International Criminal Court, in The Hague, Netherlands, Sept. 22, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Piroschka van de Wouw

In open defiance of US 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, US 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.

But in defiance 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 (PNMC) for the sole purpose of preparing evidence for the ICC.

The PNMC 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].

This comes at a significant time, as Palestinian sources have reported on PA requests that the US cancel the sanctions and allow PA leader Mahmoud Abbas to travel to the UN General Assembly meetings this month. This new information makes it abundantly clear that there is no justification for ending the US sanctions.

In addition, our organization is preparing a full report documenting the Palestinian Authority’s activities with the ICC since US sanctions were imposed last year, which will be sent to Secretary of State Rubio next week. The report documents that at no point in the last year has the PA stopped being “directly engaged in any effort by the ICC to investigate, arrest, detain, or prosecute … our close ally Israel.”

The author is the Founder and Director of Palestinian Media Watch, where a version of this article first appeared.