Tribe of Abimelech Platform Report

Report on: Alleged War Crimes and Crimes Against Humanity by Mahmoud Abbas (Oct 2023–Aug 2025) within the Jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court in State of Palestine
Issued: 25 August 2025 by the Tribe of Abimelech Platform

I. Cover and Representation

Representation and authority to report

I, Bajis Hasanat Abu Mu’ailiq, founder of the Tribe of Abimelech Platform, present this report on behalf of the Hasanat Abu Mu’ailiq tribe, an indigenous Bedouin community in the Naqab and Gaza with family branches in Jerusalem, Ramallah, and northern Israel in Haifa. I also speak in continuation of the work of my late father, Abdel Karim Bajis Haj Khalil Sheik Ahmad Mekbill Hasanat Abu Mu’ailiq, founder of the Palestinian National Interest Committee, as well as the children of Miqbel and Saaed Saqer al-Hasanat from Lifta in Jerusalem.

To our knowledge, no prior public complaint specifically naming Mahmoud Abbas has been issued before international courts or bodies. This report is therefore intended to fill that gap: to place the evidence on record, to demand that international authorities consider these findings, and to call for investigation and accountability, including the possibility of arrest warrants where the evidence meets the legal threshold.

On behalf of the late Abdel Karim Bajis, founder of the Palestinian National Interest Committee.

II. Executive Summary

This report provides information on alleged crimes committed by Mahmoud Abbas, President of the Palestinian Authority, and members of his inner circle. The Hasanat Abu Mu’ailiq tribe, recognized as the oldest and largest tribe of Palestine, has lived continuously in the Beersheba–Gaza corridor for over four millennia. Between October 2023 and August 2025, our people endured systematic displacement, destruction of homes and livelihoods, suppression of cultural rights, and acts of lethal violence.

The findings allege that Mahmoud Abbas and associated officials aided, abetted, and enabled genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes by participating in and coordinating with Israeli military operations, suppressing dissent, obstructing humanitarian assistance, and persecuting Palestinian civilians including refugees and indigenous Bedouin communities. The report identifies the responsible actors by name and sets out detailed factual allegations categorized under the definitions and elements in the Rome Statute, with attention to jurisdiction, admissibility, and gravity. It includes a partial list of 128 martyrs from the Hasanat Abu Mu’ailiq tribe who were killed in Gaza during this period, including infants and children, with an annex for names and supporting material.

III. Parties and Victims

Victim Communities

• The Hasanat Abu Mu’ailiq tribe, represented by the Tribe of Abimelech Platform, is an indigenous Bedouin community with families residing in Gaza, the Naqab, the West Bank, northern Israel, Wadi Musa in Jordan, and refugee camps across the region.

• Palestinian refugee populations living in camps including Jenin, Nur Shams, Tulkarm, Balata, Hebron, and Ramallah including Qadura and Am’ari.

• Indigenous Bedouin communities in the Naqab and in Area C of the West Bank, including Masafer Yatta, Ras Jrabah, Wadi al-Khalil, and Al-Araqib.

• The civilian population of Gaza, subjected to siege, bombardment, and widespread deprivation.

Suspected Individuals

• Mahmoud Abbas, President of the Palestinian Authority and Chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization.

• Yasser Abbas and Tareq Abbas, sons of Mahmoud Abbas and business figures with substantial holdings and influence.

• Senior Palestinian Authority security officials including Hussein al-Sheikh, Majed Faraj, Ziad Hab al-Reeh, Nasser al-Burini, and Bahaa Balusha.

IV. Jurisdiction and Admissibility

1. Subject-matter jurisdiction: The conduct described falls within genocide (Article 6), crimes against humanity (Article 7), and war crimes (Article 8).

2. Territorial and personal jurisdiction: The conduct occurred on the territory of Palestine and involved Palestinian nationals; Palestine has accepted the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court.

3. Temporal jurisdiction: All alleged crimes occurred after 1 July 2002 and within the period October 2023 through August 2025.

4. Admissibility and complementarity: Domestic authorities are unwilling or unable to genuinely investigate or prosecute the individuals named. The Palestinian Authority is itself implicated in the conduct, and Israeli proceedings do not address the culpability of named Palestinian Authority officials.

5. Gravity: The scale, nature, manner of commission, and impact — including mass killings, systematic persecution, starvation, and displacement of civilians — meet and exceed the gravity threshold of the Court.

V. Background and Context

Historical displacement of Hasanat Abu Mu’ailiq

Since October 2023, Gaza and the West Bank have experienced large-scale military campaigns resulting in mass killings, starvation, forced displacement, destruction of hospitals, universities, and civilian shelters, and the devastation of agricultural, water, electrical, and communications infrastructure. More than two million civilians in Gaza have been forcibly displaced in whole or in part. Within the West Bank, refugee camps have been repeatedly assulted, besieged, and subjected to mass arrests.

Although international attention has primarily scrutinized the actions of Israeli forces, this report focuses on the complicity and participation of Mahmoud Abbas and the Palestinian Authority. The allegations include coordination with Israeli operations, use of Palestinian Authority security forces against Palestinian civilians, obstruction of humanitarian aid during a siege and famine, and persecution of political opponents, journalists, and indigenous Bedouin communities.

The Hasanat Abu Mu’ailiq tribe has sustained multiple fatalities across extended family branches, including infants and children. For contextual and gravity purposes, the tribe’s ancestral localities of Khirbet Umm Jarrar and Khirbet Abu Mu’ailiq (Gerar corridor, between Beersheba and Gaza) were subjected in 1948 to assaults, deliberate deprivation of water, and forcible depopulation, after which surviving families were compelled to relocate to Deir al-Balah in the Gaza Strip. This historical displacement constitutes a continuing condition relevant to Article 7(1)(d) (forcible transfer) and Article 7(1)(h) (persecution).

Current siege and risks to survival

At present, Deir al-Balah, where a substantial portion of the tribe resides—is encircled and under bombardment, creating an imminent and foreseeable risk of further mass casualties and displacement, and posing an existential threat to the tribe’s continued existence on sacred ancestral lands it has inhabited for over four millennia. The ongoing attacks and siege measures impair access to food, water, and medical care and are therefore material to allegations of deliberately inflicting conditions of life calculated to bring about the destruction of the group in part (Article 6(c)), starvation of civilians as a method of warfare (Article 8(2)(b)(xxv)), and other inhumane acts (Article 7(1)(k)), when assessed together with the wider pattern of conduct set out in this report.

VI. Detailed Allegations of Crimes (October 2023 – August 2025)

Note: The following findings are compiled from known reports and testimony in external media and human rights publications during Oct 2023–Aug 2025. These acts are organized by category using the Rome Statute definitions.

I. Obstruction of aid and essential services during siege

Deliberate withholding of resources.

During the bombardment and siege of Gaza beginning in October 2023, Mahmoud Abbas ordered and/or maintained the suspension of salary payments and restricted financial support to Gaza’s civil servants and public institutions, despite knowledge of acute shortages of food, water, fuel, and electricity. This conduct constitutes the use of starvation of civilians as a method of warfare by depriving the population of objects indispensable to survival, including through willful impediment of relief supplies as provided for under the Geneva Conventions (Rome Statute Article 8(2)(b)(xxv); Customary IHL Rules 53 and 55). It further amounts to inhumane acts causing great suffering and serious injury to body or health as crimes against humanity when committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack directed against a civilian population (Article 7(1)(k)), and wilfully causing great suffering or serious injury (Article 8(2)(a)(iii)). This pattern aligns with historical precedents in which collaborating regimes, operating in concert with foreign powers, weaponized fiscal choke points—salary stoppages, budgetary strangulation of hospitals and utilities—to punish and control civilian populations while facilitating outside military objectives; here, the suspension and restriction decisions should be treated as intentional deprivation instruments rather than neutral budget adjustments. Additionally, on 10–11 February 2025, Mahmoud Abbas issued a presidential decree revoking the legal basis for the PA’s longstanding stipend system for families of Palestinians slain or imprisoned by Israel, restructuring benefits into a discretionary welfare framework and—according to subsequent reporting—halting payments to at least 1,600 prisoners’ families. In the siege/repression context, the deliberate withholding and restructuring of targeted social entitlements to a politically defined group functioned as financial coercion and collective punishment; where used to punish or silence opposition, it engages persecution (Art. 7(1)(h)) and other inhumane acts (Art. 7(1)(k)) and contributes to the broader deprivation analysis under Articles 7 and 8.

Blocking fuel and humanitarian deliveries.

With knowledge of hospital generators shutting down and water/sanitation collapse, Palestinian Authority officials refused or failed to authorize the release and transfer of donated fuel and critical supplies to Gaza and imposed political conditions that delayed or halted humanitarian convoys. Evidence and testimony indicate that during October–November 2023, Gaza hospitals ran out of generator fuel; although Israel controlled the crossings, PA actors were accused of refusing to authorize the release of donated fuel stockpiles designated for Gaza, forcing UN agencies to negotiate directly for minimal deliveries. Such conduct meets the actus reus of starvation of civilians as a method of warfare by depriving them of indispensable objects and by willfully impeding relief (Article 8(2)(b)(xxv)); given the siege context and the foreseeability of mass harm, it also constitutes persecution and other inhumane acts (Article 7(1)(h), 7(1)(k)) within a state policy to attack a civilian population and violates the duty to respect and protect humanitarian relief operations (Customary IHL Rule 55).

Obstruction of medical access.

Patients from Gaza and the West Bank faced unusual hurdles in obtaining permits and coordination for treatment outside Gaza; roads and checkpoints were closed by Palestinian Authority security during Israeli operations, impeding ambulances, medical units, and relief teams. Reports from the World Health Organization and Médecins Sans Frontières describe patients from Gaza and the West Bank facing unusual hurdles in obtaining Palestinian Authority permits or coordination for treatment abroad. In December 2024, during the PA’s Jenin security operation, Al Jazeera Media Network reported that PA forces surrounded a hospital, stopped and obstructed ambulances and obstructed medical teams.

Denying or obstructing medical care and protected transports constitutes inhumane acts and persecution when part of a widespread or systematic policy (Article 7(1)(k), 7(1)(h)); and violates binding obligations to respect and protect medical units and transports and to ensure the wounded and sick are collected and cared for (Common Article 3; Geneva Convention IV arts. 16–18). In the siege context, these measures are also material to the crimes of starvation and wilfully causing great suffering or serious injury to body or health (Articles 8(2)(b)(xxv) and 8(2)(a)(iii)).

By withholding essential services and obstructing medical access under siege conditions, Mahmoud Abbas engaged in inhumane acts rising to the level of crimes against humanity. They also violated obligations under international humanitarian and human rights law to protect civilians and to respect and protect medical units and transports, including the duty to ensure the wounded and sick are collected and cared for (Common Article 3; Geneva Convention IV, arts. 16–18).

Requested investigatory focus.

International investigators, prosecutors, or human rights monitors are requested to obtain (a) the chain of command documents regarding suspension of salaries and utility/fuel payments; (b) authorizations, refusals, and internal communications concerning fuel and convoy clearances; (c) permit logs and coordination files for medical evacuation and external treatment; and (d) orders to PA security units that closed roads or impeded ambulances. International investigators, prosecutors, or human rights monitors should also obtain: security‑coordination protocols, meeting minutes, liaison correspondence, and intelligence‑exchange summaries; directives regarding suppression of assemblies, arrests of political opponents, and information operations; records reflecting decisions to suspend fuel and electricity payments and to condition or impede humanitarian deliveries; communications and decisions regarding referrals, evidence transmission, and interactions with international mechanisms, including any instructions to delay or restrict cooperation. These materials establish the substantial assistance, knowledge, and policy elements for Articles 6 and 25, as well as command responsibility under Article 28, and go to mens rea (knowledge and intent), nexus to the armed conflict, and the substantial effect of the assistance provided.

Sources

1. Al Arabiya English, “Palestinian Authority to pay decreased salaries as Israel blocks funds,” 6 February 2024, available at https://english.alarabiya.net/News/middle-east/2024/02/06/Palestinian-Authority-to-pay-decreased-salaries-as-Israel-blocks-funds, accessed 22 August 2025.

2. Palestine Economic Policy Research Institute (MAS), “Special Bulletin No. 10 (English): Fiscal Crisis and Withheld Clearance Revenues,” September 2024, available at https://mas.ps/cached_uploads/download/2024/09/02/special-bulletin-10-eng-1725280082.pdf, accessed 22 August 2025.

3. Al Jazeera, “First truck carrying fuel allowed into Gaza via Egypt,” 15 November 2023, available at https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/11/15/first-truck-carrying-fuel-allowed-into-gaza-via-egypt, accessed 22 August 2025.

4. Axios, “Israel allows limited fuel shipments into Gaza for UN operations,” 14 November 2023, available at https://www.axios.com/2023/11/14/israel-gaza-fuel-aid-unrwa-rafah-crossing, accessed 22 August 2025.

5. World Health Organization (WHO), “WHO concerned about escalating health crisis in the West Bank,” 14 June 2024, available at https://www.who.int/news/item/14-06-2024-who-concerned-about-escalating-health-crisis-in-west-bank, accessed 22 August 2025.

6. Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), “Palestine: MSF report finds escalating attacks and obstruction of health care in the West Bank,” October 2024, available at https://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/latest/palestine-msf-report-finds-escalating-attacks-and-obstruction-health-care-west-bank, accessed 22 August 2025.

7. Al Jazeera, “Why is the PA raiding Jenin camp, fighting resistance groups?” 15 December 2024, available at https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2024/12/15/why-is-the-pa-raiding-jenin-camp-fighting-resistance-groups, accessed 22 August 2025.

8. Al Jazeera, “PA’s Abbas overhauls payments for families of slain and jailed Palestinians,” 10 February 2025, available at https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/2/10/pas-abbas-overhauls-payments-for-families-of-slain-and-jailed-palestinians, accessed 22 August 2025.

9. The Times of Israel, “In major win for Trump, PA’s Abbas signs decree ending ‘pay‑to‑slay’ system,” 10 February 2025, available at https://www.timesofisrael.com/in-major-win-for-trump-pas-abbas-signs-decree-ending-pay-to-slay-system/, accessed 22 August 2025.

10. The Wall Street Journal, “Palestinians vow to end controversial prisoner payment program,” 11 February 2025, available at https://www.wsj.com/world/middle-east/palestinians-vow-to-end-controversial-prisoner-payment-program-1b614340, accessed 22 August 2025.

11. Middle East Monitor, “Palestinian president stops payments to families of prisoners, martyrs,” 11 February 2025, available at https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20250211-palestinian-president-stops-payments-to-families-of-prisoners-martyrs/, accessed 22 August 2025.

12. Reuters, “Palestinian Authority to end stipends for prisoners…,” 11 February 2025: https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/palestinian-authority-end-stipends-prisoners-amid-moves-secure-funding-2025-02-11/

13. Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), “Inflicting Harm and Denying Care: West Bank” (report hub), 6 February 2025: https://www.msf.org/inflicting-harm-and-denying-care-west-bank-report

    • PDF: https://www.doctorswithoutborders.ca/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/202502_ENG_Inflicting_Harm_and_Denying_Care_WB.pdf

14. International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Customary IHL, Rule 53 (Starvation of civilians as a method of warfare): https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/en/customary-ihl/v1/rule53

15. ICRC, Customary IHL, Rule 55 (Access for humanitarian relief to civilians in need): https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/en/customary-ihl/v1/rule55

16. ICRC, Geneva Convention IV, Article 16: https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/en/ihl-treaties/gciv-1949/article-16

17. ICRC, Geneva Convention IV, Article 17: https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/en/ihl-treaties/gciv-1949/article-17

18. ICRC, Geneva Convention IV, Article 18: https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/en/ihl-treaties/gciv-1949/article-18

II. Repression of protests, journalists, and community leaders

Unlawful use of force and mass arrests against civilians expressing opposition to genocide.

Following 7 October 2023, civilians across the West Bank and East Jerusalem assembled to oppose the indiscriminate military assault in Gaza. Under Mahmoud Abbas’s authority, units of the Palestinian Authority’s National Security Forces and Preventive Security used unlawful force against civilians, including tear gas, baton beatings, and live fire discharged in proximity to crowds, and carried out mass arrests and prolonged detentions without charge in Ramallah, Hebron, Nablus, and Jenin. Protesters and community organizers were detained without charge for criticizing the response of Mahmoud Abbas and his government to the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza. When part of a widespread or systematic attack against a civilian population and in furtherance of an organizational policy, this conduct constitutes crimes against humanity, including persecution on political grounds (Rome Statute, Art. 7(1)(h)), imprisonment or other severe deprivation of liberty (Art. 7(1)(e)), and other inhumane acts intentionally causing great suffering or serious injury to body or mental or physical health (Art. 7(1)(k)).

Targeting and persecution of journalists and whistleblowers.

Human rights monitors documented that Palestinian journalists, whistleblowers, and media workers were subjected to harassment and violence by security services operating under the authority and direction of Mahmoud Abbas, including the General Intelligence, Preventive Security, and National Security Forces. In November 2023, General Intelligence officers reportedly assaulted the home of a local reporter who had covered protests against the Palestinian Authority, seizing equipment and intimidating family members; throughout 2023–2025, numerous reporters and media workers were summoned by security agencies over social-media posts critical of Mahmoud Abbas’s handling of the Gaza war, with several detainees reporting torture, cruel treatment, coerced confessions, and threats while in custody. The Palestinian Center for Development and Media Freedoms (MADA) recorded fifty-six Palestinian Authority–origin violations against media workers in 2024, including arrests, detentions, summonses, equipment seizures, and mistreatment. In January 2025, a Palestinian court ordered the office of Al Jazeera Media Network closed in the West Bank, a sweeping ban on media condemned by press-freedom organizations and rights groups as an escalation aimed at suppressing reporting on abuses and silencing criticism of Mahmoud Abbas and his security apparatus. Taken together, these measures violate binding obligations under international human rights law to respect and protect freedom of expression, the press, bodily integrity, and due process, and—when undertaken as part of a widespread or systematic attack directed against a civilian population pursuant to or in furtherance of an organizational policy—constitute crimes against humanity, including persecution on political grounds under Article 7(1)(h), imprisonment or other severe deprivation of physical liberty under Article 7(1)(e), torture under Article 7(1)(f) where established, and enforced disappearance under Article 7(1)(i) where detentions are unacknowledged or the fate or whereabouts of detainees is concealed.

Suppression of humanitarian actors and community leaders.

Under the authority, control, and direction of Mahmoud Abbas, security forces of the Palestinian Authority — including the Presidential Guard, Preventive Security, and General Intelligence — intimidated, harassed, detained, and imposed travel bans on volunteer relief organizers, tribal elders, refugee-camp representatives, student and professional union leaders, women’s association coordinators, and other community figures who coordinated assistance for Gaza, organized public funerals, documented killings, or publicly criticized the conduct of the Palestinian Authority during the war period. Documented methods included night attacks and summonses; seizure of mobile telephones, computers, documents, and donation records; compelled interrogations and coerced “pledges” to cease relief work or public advocacy; arbitrary arrest and prolonged incommunicado detention without charge; surveillance, stalking, and threats directed at activists and their family members; checkpoint harassment and denial of movement permits for those attempting to deliver aid, accompany medical evacuations, or attend funerals; disruption or banning of public funerals and condolence gatherings; and administrative travel bans imposed on community spokespeople and camp representatives who challenged the policies of the Palestinian Authority. These measures were aimed at neutralizing civil-society actors who exposed abuses, mobilized assistance, or organized collective mourning and documentation, and they created a coercive environment that chilled humanitarian activity and community self-organization.

Taken together, when undertaken as part of a widespread or systematic attack directed against a civilian population pursuant to or in furtherance of an organizational policy, these acts constitute crimes against humanity, including persecution on political grounds under Article 7, paragraph 1, subparagraph (h); imprisonment or other severe deprivation of physical liberty under Article 7, paragraph 1, subparagraph (e); torture where established under Article 7, paragraph 1, subparagraph (f); enforced disappearance where detentions were unacknowledged or the fate or whereabouts of detainees was concealed under Article 7, paragraph 1, subparagraph (i); and other inhumane acts intentionally causing great suffering or serious injury to mental or physical health under Article 7, paragraph 1, subparagraph (k). These actions are incompatible with binding obligations under international humanitarian and human rights law to facilitate impartial humanitarian relief and to protect civilians and those providing them assistance, including the duty to allow and ensure rapid and unimpeded passage of humanitarian consignments and to respect and protect medical and relief personnel and transports (Geneva Convention IV, Article 23; Common Article 3; and customary international humanitarian law on humanitarian relief operations). The pattern of intimidation, detention, movement restriction, and punitive disruption of funerals and documentation evidences policy-level intent and knowledge sufficient to satisfy the requirements of the Article 7 chapeau and to engage superior responsibility for commanders and political superiors who knew or, owing to the circumstances at the time, should have known of the crimes and failed to prevent them or to submit the matter for investigation and prosecution.

Requested investigatory focus.

International investigators, prosecutors, or human rights monitors should obtain and analyze: (1) operational plans, orders, and rules of engagement issued to the Presidential Guard, Preventive Security, and General Intelligence concerning assemblies, funerals, documentation teams, and humanitarian coordination; (2) arrest and detention registers, intake forms, incommunicado-hold logs, custody transfer sheets, visitor and counsel-access logs, and medical intake and referral records for detainees drawn from humanitarian and community networks; (3) summons records, property-seizure inventories, data-extraction reports, and return-of-property logs for devices taken from relief organizers, journalists embedded with relief teams, and community leaders; (4) movement-control and travel-ban lists, checkpoint directives, permit denials, convoy-clearance files, road-closure orders, and communications reflecting interference with aid delivery, medical evacuation, or public funerals; (5) internal correspondence, messaging-application threads, meeting minutes, and liaison communications among the Presidential Guard, Preventive Security, General Intelligence, governorates, and the Office of the President that discuss targets, messaging, and desired deterrent effects on relief organizers and community representatives; and (6) complaints, disciplinary files, inspection reports, and oversight memoranda relating to abuse of detainees, denial of counsel, interference with funerals, or obstruction of humanitarian activity. These materials will establish the scope, policy character, knowledge, chain of command, and the contribution of these acts to the attack against a civilian population for purposes of individual criminal responsibility and superior responsibility.

Sources

1. Al Jazeera, “Photos: Protesters clash with Palestinian police in West Bank,” 17 October 2023, available at https://www.aljazeera.com/gallery/2023/10/17/photos-protesters-clash-with-palestinian-police-in-west-bank, accessed 22 August 2025.

2. Middle East Eye, “West Bank: PA forces shoot in air to disperse protests after hospital bombing,” 17 October 2023, available at https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/israel-palestine-war-gaza-west-bank-forces-shoot-protesting-hospital-bombing, accessed 22 August 2025.

3. AFP via Times of Israel, “Palestinian security forces disperse anti‑Abbas protesters in Ramallah,” liveblog entry, 17 October 2023, available at https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/palestinian-security-forces-disperse-anti-abbas-protesters-in-ramallah/, accessed 22 August 2025.

4. OHCHR, “UN report: Palestinian detainees held arbitrarily and secretly subjected to torture or ill‑treatment,” Press Release, 31 July 2024, available at https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2024/07/un-report-palestinian-detainees-held-arbitrarily-and-secretly-subjected, accessed 22 August 2025.

5. OHCHR, “Thematic report on detention in the context of the escalation in Gaza (Oct 2023–Jun 2024),” 31 July 2024, available at https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/documents/countries/opt/20240731-Thematic-report-Detention-context-Gaza-hostilities.pdf, accessed 22 August 2025.

6. Palestinian Center for Development and Media Freedoms (MADA), “Annual Report 2024,” (PDF), available at https://www.madacenter.org/files/annual%20Rep2024E.pdf, accessed 22 August 2025.

7. Reuters, “Palestinian court orders Al Jazeera closed in West Bank,” 23 January 2025, available at https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/palestinian-court-orders-al-jazeera-closed-west-bank-2025-01-23/, accessed 22 August 2025.

8. Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), “CPJ urges Palestinian Authority to lift ban on Al Jazeera’s operations in West Bank,” 1 January 2025, available at https://cpj.org/2025/01/cpj-urges-palestinian-authority-to-lift-ban-on-al-jazeeras-operations-in-west-bank/, accessed 22 August 2025.

9. Al‑Haq, “Annual Report 2023,” available at http://www.alhaq.org/annual-reports/, accessed 22 August 2025.

10. Reuters, “Palestinian Authority suspends broadcast of Qatar’s Al Jazeera TV temporarily,” 1 January 2025: https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/palestinian-authority-suspends-broadcast-qatars-al-jazeera-tv-temporarily-2025-01-01/

11. UN Geneva (OHCHR experts), “Al Jazeera ban must be lifted, rights experts urge Palestinian authorities,” 8 January 2025: https://www.ungeneva.org/en/news-media/news/2025/01/102145/al-jazeera-ban-must-be-lifted-rights-experts-urge-palestinian

III. Coordination with Israeli forces in assaults' on refugee camps

Intelligence-sharing and operational coordination facilitating arrests and killings.

Under the authority and direction of Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian Authority’s General Intelligence Service (GIS), led by Majed Faraj, and the Preventive Security Service (PSS) shared intelligence with Israeli authorities (including the Israel Security Agency/Shin Bet, IDF units, and allied police/special units) concerning the identities, locations, communications identifiers, and movement patterns of resistance members, political opponents, journalists, and community organizers. Between late 2023 and 2025, assaults on refugee camps — including Jenin, Nur Shams (Tulkarm), and Balata (Nablus) — were frequently preceded or followed by PA security operations designed to exploit, amplify, or synchronize with Israeli actions. Documentation and testimony describe the preparation and handover of name lists, home and safe-house addresses, phone and device identifiers (IMEI/IMSI), vehicle plates, geolocation extracts, and habitual routes; this information substantially assisted arrests and, in several instances, targeted killings. The civil-affairs coordination channel overseen at the political level by senior PA liaison officials (including Hussein al-Sheikh during the period) functioned in parallel to these security handovers, providing sequencing, deconfliction, and after-action access that materially facilitated Israeli incursions. Where Israeli assaults resulted in civilian deaths, disappearances, or the transfer/confinement of protected persons, this conduct directly links PA officials and commanders to possible war crimes, including wilful killing (Rome Statute Art. 8(2)(a)(i)), unlawful transfer or confinement (Art. 8(2)(a)(vii)), and intentionally directing attacks against a civilian population (Art. 8(2)(b)(i)). Knowing assistance by GIS/PSS engages aiding-and-abetting liability under Article 25(3)(c) and contribution to a group crime under Article 25(3)(d); when part of a widespread or systematic attack directed against a civilian population, it supports crimes against humanity, including murder and persecution (Art. 7(1)(a), 7(1)(h)), with superior responsibility attaching to those who knew or should have known and failed to prevent or punish (Art. 28).

Joint siege and military operations facilitating illegal occupation and assault against refugee camps.

During large-scale operations including the assault on Jenin refugee camp (2024–2025) and the assault on Nur Shams (Oct 2023)—Palestinian Authority forces worked in tandem with the Israel Defense Forces during refugee camp attacks. PA security units withdrew from or sealed off areas and exits, ensuring encirclement of the camp; PA security units sealed exits, controlled internal roads, and in instances cut local communications while at times took custody of wounded or fleeing Palestinians who were thereafter detained. In the assault on Nur Shams in October 2023, Palestinian Authority authorities allegedly coordinated to cut electricity or local communications at Israel’s request and later took custody of Palestinians who were wounded or fleeing, some of whom were detained. These measures enabled encirclement of densely populated camps and foreseeably increased civilian harm during Israeli incursions, demonstrating complicity. If those attacks—including indiscriminate shelling and home demolitions—are war crimes, then such coordination constitutes aiding and abetting war crimes and engages liability for collective punishment, destruction of property not justified by military necessity (Art. 8(2)(a)(iv)), and intentionally directing attacks against civilians (Art. 8(2)(b)(i)), as well as persecution and other inhumane acts as crimes against humanity (Art. 7(1)(h), 7(1)(k)).

Targeting civil infrastructure and medical units.

Palestinian Authority complicity is also evidenced by instances in which Palestinian security relayed information about hospitals, mosques, or schools in refugee camps that Israeli forces then assaulted under the claim that militants were present. PA actors relayed information and internal layouts of clinics, hospitals, mosques, and schools inside the camps that were later assaulted by Israeli forces under claims of militant presence. One reported instance in early 2024 involved sharing the layout of a clinic in the Jenin camp, which was later stormed by Israeli special forces, damaging the facility and terrorizing patients. By assisting in locating and breaching protected civilian sites, responsible officials violated obligations to respect and protect medical units and civilian objects and are culpable for participation in the war crime of intentionally directing attacks against buildings dedicated to religion, education, medicine, and hospitals (Art. 8(2)(b)(ix)), in addition to grave breaches under the Geneva Conventions, under doctrines of common purpose and aiding and abetting.

Requested investigatory focus.

International investigators, prosecutors, or human rights monitors should obtain: (i) tasking orders, intelligence packets, name lists, geolocation extracts, device-identifier reports, and handover logs exchanged between PA services and Israeli authorities; (ii) operations plans, road-closure orders, communications cut-off directives, and custody-transfer sheets from PA units operating in Jenin, Nur Shams, and Balata; (iii) facility schematics, internal communications, and liaison correspondence relating to protected sites (clinics, hospitals, mosques, schools); (iv) after-action reports and casualty logs demonstrating foreseeability and scale of civilian harm; and (v) chain-of-command records tracing approvals to the Office of the President to establish superior (command) responsibility under Article 28.

Sources

1. Reuters, “Palestinian security forces try to exert control in volatile West Bank,” 17 December 2024, available at https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/palestinian-security-forces-try-exert-control-volatile-west-bank-2024-12-17/, accessed 22 August 2025.

2. Financial Times, “Palestinian Authority crackdown on militants amid West Bank unrest,” January 2025, available at https://www.ft.com/content/4530e99e-e5ee-491f-b7be-319715340f2d, accessed 22 August 2025.

3. Al Jazeera, “Why is the PA raiding Jenin camp, fighting resistance groups?” 15 December 2024, available at https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2024/12/15/why-is-the-pa-raiding-jenin-camp-fighting-resistance-groups, accessed 22 August 2025.

4. Middle East Eye, “Israeli army and Palestinian Authority besiege and raid Jenin hospitals,” 23 January 2025, available at https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/israeli-army-and-palestinian-authority-besiege-and-raid-jenin-hospitals, accessed 22 August 2025.

5. The Times of Israel, “With a show of force in Jenin, the PA tries to prove it can rule Gaza,” December 2024, available at https://www.timesofisrael.com/with-a-show-of-force-in-jenin-the-pa-tries-to-prove-it-can-rule-gaza-but-can-it/, accessed 22 August 2025.

6. International Criminal Court, “Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court,” (consolidated), available at https://www.icc-cpi.int/sites/default/files/2024-05/Rome-Statute-eng.pdf, accessed 22 August 2025, paras. [Art. 7, Art. 8, Art. 25, Art. 28].

7. Reuters, “Israeli military blows up several buildings during operation in West Bank’s Jenin,” 2 February 2025: https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/israeli-military-blows-up-several-buildings-during-operation-west-banks-jenin-2025-02-02/

8. Yahoo/Reuters (mirror), “Israeli minister: army applying lessons from Gaza to West Bank operation,” 22 January 2025: https://news.yahoo.com/israeli-minister-army-applying-lessons-120810803.html

9. USNews/Reuters (mirror), same report, 22 January 2025: https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2025-01-22/israeli-minister-says-army-trying-to-apply-lessons-from-gaza-to-west-bank-operation

IV. Palestinian Authority detention, torture, and psychological warfare against dissenters

Mass arrests of political opponents.

In the aftermath of 7 October 2023, the Palestinian Authority security apparatus carried out sweeping arrests of individuals affiliated with opposition movements, ordinary demonstrators, and critics. Human rights groups reported that hundreds were detained by Preventive Security and by General Intelligence between October and December 2023 without formal charges, under the rubric of “security”. Many detainees were held incommunicado. When widespread or systematic, and carried out as part of an organizational policy against a civilian population, such conduct constitutes crimes against humanity of imprisonment or other severe deprivation of physical liberty under Article 7 paragraph 1 subparagraph (e).

Torture and inhumane treatment.

Former detainees described severe abuse in Palestinian Authority custody during this period. Methods included beatings, stress positions, electric shocks, and threats of sexual violence — techniques long documented in Palestinian Authority detention centers. Detainees in Jericho Prison and Junayd Prison in Nablus alleged that interrogators from General Intelligence subjected them to prolonged torture designed to extract information on activists or to coerce confessions. Several victims required hospitalization. Such conduct meets the definition of torture under international law and qualifies both as a war crime where the context of armed conflict and protected persons is present and as a crime against humanity where part of a widespread or systematic policy. Mahmoud Abbas as commander in chief bears liability under Article 28 for failure to prevent or repress these crimes and to refer them for investigation and prosecution.

Enforcement of the Gaza siege through psychological warfare.

In coordination with Israeli authorities, the Palestinian Authority engaged in psychological operations against internal dissent and against Gaza’s population. Critics accuse the Palestinian Authority of public messaging that blamed Gaza’s residents for their own suffering and that aligned with Israeli narratives, thereby sowing division and demoralization. Additional measures included movement restrictions and curfews in areas of unrest and punitive actions in refugee camps in the West Bank. The mental harm and trauma intentionally caused to a population already under attack may amount to persecution and cruel treatment. Article 7 paragraph 1 subparagraph (k) of the Rome Statute covers other inhumane acts intentionally causing great suffering or serious injury to mental or physical health, which applies to orchestrated campaigns of intimidation and psychological abuse.

Requested investigatory focus.

The International investigators, prosecutors, or human rights monitors should seek: (i) arrest registers, detention logs, incommunicado‑hold records, and habeas documentation; (ii) medical intake charts, injury photographs, forensic reports, and hospital referrals from detention facilities; (iii) interrogation guidelines, oversight memoranda, and disciplinary files for General Intelligence and Preventive Security; (iv) propaganda directives, social‑media tasking, curfew orders, and internal messaging evidencing policy‑level design of psychological operations; and (v) supervisory and approval records tracing these operations to Mahmoud Abbas for purposes of Article 28.

Sources

1. Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), “UN report: Palestinian detainees held arbitrarily and secretly subjected to torture or ill‑treatment,” Press Release, 31 July 2024, available at https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2024/07/un-report-palestinian-detainees-held-arbitrarily-and-secretly-subjected, accessed 22 August 2025.

2. OHCHR, “Thematic report on detention in the context of the escalation in Gaza (Oct 2023–Jun 2024),” 31 July 2024, available at https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/documents/countries/opt/20240731-Thematic-report-Detention-context-Gaza-hostilities.pdf, accessed 22 August 2025.

3. Palestinian Center for Development and Media Freedoms (MADA), “Annual Report 2024,” available at https://www.madacenter.org/files/annual%20Rep2024E.pdf, accessed 22 August 2025.

4. U.S. Department of State, “2024 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: West Bank and Gaza,” (PDF), available at https://www.state.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/624521_WEST-BANK-AND-GAZA-2024-HUMAN-RIGHTS-REPORT.pdf, accessed 22 August 2025.

5. International Criminal Court, “Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court,” (consolidated), available at https://www.icc-cpi.int/sites/default/files/2024-05/Rome-Statute-eng.pdf, accessed 22 August 2025, paras. [Art. 6, Art. 7, Art. 8, Art. 28].

V. Complicity in home demolitions and forced displacement of indigenous communities

Facilitating forcible transfer and unlawful destruction of property.

Under Mahmoud Abbas’s authority, in locales such as Masafer Yatta and Bedouin encampments in the Jordan Valley, the Palestinian Authority institutions withheld material support, protection and advocacy, effectively abandoning residents to displacement policies while discouraging rebuilding and public protest, and in certain instances shared population and land‑registration data later used to target “unrecognized” villages, further implicating Mahmoud Abbas.

Indigenous Bedouin communities in the Naqab and in Area C of the West Bank experienced intensified demolitions and expulsions during 2023–2025. The al-Tiyaha Bedouin confederation, with historic roots around Beersheba, saw villages repeatedly razed, potentially amounting to forcible transfer, a grave breach and a crime against humanity. Although these actions were carried out by Israeli forces, the Palestinian Authority’s role was widely criticized as complicit. Such conduct constitutes complicity in deportation or forcible transfer of population (Rome Statute, Art. 7(1)(d)) and the war crimes of unlawful deportation or transfer and extensive destruction and appropriation of property not justified by military necessity (Art. 8(2)(a)(iv); Art. 8(2)(a)(vii)). When directed at indigenous Bedouin communities, it also constitutes persecution by intentional and severe deprivation of fundamental rights contrary to international law (Art. 7(1)(h)), including rights to culture, identity, property, and residence.

Participation in persecution of indigenous peoples and targeting their villages in the Naqab and the West Bank.

Within the Naqab, Bedouin citizens including Al‑Azazme, Al‑Tarabin, and Al‑Qureinat, experienced continuous cycles of demolitions and forced displacement, including serial razings of Al‑Araqib. While the Palestinian Authority lacks jurisdiction inside Israel, Mahmoud Abbas’s administration is accused of political silence, inaction and failure to mobilize protective diplomacy under Mahmoud Abbas functioned as knowing facilitation and political cover for ongoing persecution. Rather than mobilizing international pressure to protect these indigenous communities, Abbas's administration remained largely quiet, even as villages were demolished repeatedly. The pattern of non‑assistance in circumstances of foreseeable harm supports aiding and abetting liability (Art. 25(3)(c)) and contribution to a group crime (Art. 25(3)(d)). The indifference facilitated systematic oppression. Under Article 7 paragraph 1 subparagraph (d), forced displacement of a population is a crime against humanity; complicity arises where authorities knowingly fail to act while in a position to do so.

Post‑assault evidentiary suppression, cooperation in settlement expansion and inducement to relocate.

In the northern West Bank, residents of Jenin and Tulkarm camps observed that after Israeli assaults, Palestinian Authority forces entered to “restore order” and in the process collected unexploded ordnance and removed debris in ways that obscured or destroyed evidence of unlawful attacks. Testimony from land defense committees suggests that Palestinian Authority officials urged displaced families to accept compensation and relocate rather than contest confiscations tied to settlement expansion.

These actions prioritized relations with the occupying power over the protection of Palestinian homes and heritage, facilitated impunity, advanced forcible transfer, and undermined accountability, while engaging liability under Articles 7 and 8, and Article 25(3) for ordering, soliciting, inducing, or aiding the commission of crimes. For superior responsibility (Art. 28), obtain approvals and reporting lines to the Office of the President.

Requested investigatory focus.

International investigators, prosecutors, or human rights monitors should secure: (i) land‑registry exports, population lists, cadastral maps, and data‑sharing agreements used in targeting demolitions; (ii) internal instructions discouraging rebuilding or protest; (iii) communications with Israeli administrative bodies regarding demolition, eviction, and “regularization”; (iv) debris‑removal and ordnance‑clearance orders, contractor logs, and scene‑preservation protocols post‑assault; (v) records of compensation offers and relocation inducements; and (vi) chain‑of‑command records linking these measures to Mahmoud Abbas for Article 28 analysis.

Sources

1. United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA oPt), “Humanitarian Situation Update — West Bank,” (multiple releases, incl. 2024–2025), available at https://www.ochaopt.org, accessed 22 August 2025.

2. OCHA, “West Bank: Escalation of demolitions in Area C (incl. Masafer Yatta),” situation updates and flash reports, available at https://www.ochaopt.org/reports, accessed 22 August 2025.

3. Reuters, “Facing settler threats, Palestinian Bedouins forced out of rural West Bank community,” 4 July 2025, available at https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/facing-settler-threats-palestinian-bedouins-forced-out-rural-west-bank-community-2025-07-04/, accessed 22 August 2025.

4. Jewish Currents, “The Destruction of Khallet a‑Daba,” feature report, available at https://jewishcurrents.org/the-destruction-of-khalet-a-daba, accessed 22 August 2025.

5. Arab48, “Israel demolishes Al‑Araqib for the 243rd time,” 28 July 2025, available at https://www.arab48.com, accessed 22 August 2025.

6. International Criminal Court, “Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court,” (consolidated), available at https://www.icc-cpi.int/sites/default/files/2024-05/Rome-Statute-eng.pdf, accessed 22 August 2025, paras. [Art. 7(1)(d), 7(1)(h); Art. 8(2)(a)(iv), 8(2)(a)(vii); Art. 25; Art. 28].

7. OCHA oPt, Data hub, “Data on demolition and displacement in the West Bank”: https://www.ochaopt.org/data/demolition

8. OCHA oPt, “Humanitarian Situation Update — West Bank,” #254 (9 January 2025): https://www.ochaopt.org/content/humanitarian-situation-update-254-west-bank

9. OCHA oPt, “Humanitarian Situation Update — West Bank,” #264 (March 2025): https://www.ochaopt.org/content/humanitarian-situation-update-264-west-bank

10. OCHA oPt, West Bank Monthly Snapshot — Casualties, Property Damage and Displacement (June 2025) (index): https://www.ochaopt.org/publications/snapshots

11. OCHA oPt, West Bank Infographic Snapshot, 16 February 2025 (PDF): https://www.ochaopt.org/sites/default/files/West_Bank_snapshot_16_February_2025.pdf

12. Arab48 (Arabic), specific article, “هدم قرية العراقيب للمرة 243,” 28 July 2025: https://www.arab48.com/%D9%85%D8%AD%D9%84%D9%8A%D8%A7%D8%AA/%D8%A3%D8%AE%D8%A8%D8%A7%D8%B1/2025/07/28/%D9%87%D8%AF%D9%85-%D9%82%D8%B1%D9%8A%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B9%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%82%D9%8A%D8%A8-%D9%84%D9%84%D9%85%D8%B1%D8%A9-243

VI. Enabling genocide through security coordination and political cover

Security coordination as an enabling mechanism of genocide.

Mahmoud Abbas publicly characterized security coordination with Israel as “sacred”. During the Gaza war and intensified repression in the West Bank, this coordination never fully ceased. By continuing to arrest resistance members, share intelligence, and suppressing assemblies and impeding aid and medical evacuations, Mahmoud Abbas undermined Palestinian capacity to resist what many observers characterized as a genocidal campaign against Gaza’s population, while substantially assisting the commission of enumerated genocidal acts (killing, causing serious bodily or mental harm, and deliberately inflicting conditions of life calculated to bring about the physical destruction of the group in whole or in part) (Art. 6(a)–(c)). If the actions in Gaza constitute genocide, then the Palestinian Authority’s conduct in weakening Palestinian defense and resilience constitutes complicity in genocide under Article 25 paragraph 3 subparagraph (c), because Palestinian Authority forces provided assistance that had a substantial effect on the commission of the crime with knowledge of the perpetrator’s intent. For superior responsibility (Art. 28), the inquiry should trace coordination approvals and operational directives to Abbas’s office.

Narrative cover and Political and public denial as evidence of knowledge and intent.

Genocide is often accompanied by denial and minimization. Public minimization or denial of genocidal conduct by Mahmoud Abbas key Palestinian Authority spokespeople, and assignment of blame to Gaza‑based factions for consequences of siege and bombardment, provided political cover enabling continuation of mass atrocities. Such statements are probative of knowledge, support persecution (Art. 7(1)(h)) and reinforce the substantial‑effect analysis for accomplice liability in genocide. Under the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, complicity does not require the accomplice to share genocidal intent; rather, it requires knowledge and assistance. The persistence of security coordination and narratives that blamed the victims meets that criterion.

Obstruction of accountability processes.

The administration of Mahmoud Abbas has been criticized for obstructing efforts to hold Israeli officials accountable and interference with or delaying cooperation and submissions of evidence with international investigative bodies, including the International Criminal Court, in order to preserve diplomatic arrangements, thereby hindering prosecution of genocide and war crimes and ensuring impunity for principal perpetrators. This conduct extends the effects of the crimes, hinders the prosecution of genocide and war crimes and align with perpetrators’ interests, extending the effects of the initial crimes by ensuring impunity and further solidifying the case for aiding and abetting, and is relevant to Article 70 (offences against the administration of justice) where proof shows interference with witnesses or evidence before the Court.

Requested investigatory focus.

International investigators, prosecutors, or human rights monitors should obtain: (i) security‑coordination protocols, meeting minutes, liaison correspondence, and intelligence‑exchange summaries; (ii) directives regarding suppression of assemblies, arrests of political opponents, and information operations; (iii) records reflecting decisions to suspend salary/utility payments and to condition or impede humanitarian deliveries; (iv) communications and decisions regarding referrals, evidence transmission, and interactions with international mechanisms, including instructions to delay or restrict cooperation; and (v) command and approval chains linking these measures to Mahmoud Abbas for purposes of Articles 25 and 28.

Sources

1. The Times of Israel, “Abbas vows to uphold ‘sacred’ security coordination with Israel,” 28 May 2014, available at https://www.timesofisrael.com/abbas-vows-to-uphold-sacred-security-coordination-with-israel/, accessed 22 August 2025.

2. The Times of Israel, “With a show of force in Jenin, the PA tries to prove it can rule Gaza—but can it?” December 2024, available at https://www.timesofisrael.com/with-a-show-of-force-in-jenin-the-pa-tries-to-prove-it-can-rule-gaza-but-can-it/, accessed 22 August 2025.

3. International Court of Justice (ICJ), “Order: Application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide in the Gaza Strip (South Africa v. Israel), Provisional Measures,” 26 January 2024, available at https://www.icj-cij.org/sites/default/files/case-related/192/192-20240126-ord-01-00-en.pdf, accessed 22 August 2025.

4. ICJ, “Order: Additional Provisional Measures,” 28 March 2024, available at https://www.icj-cij.org/sites/default/files/case-related/192/192-20240328-ord-01-00-en.pdf, accessed 22 August 2025.

5. ICJ, “Order: Concerning the situation in Rafah,” 24 May 2024, available at https://www.icj-cij.org/sites/default/files/case-related/192/192-20240524-ord-01-00-en.pdf, accessed 22 August 2025.

6. Reuters, “International Criminal Court Prosecutor seeks arrest warrants for Hamas and Israeli leaders,” 20 May 2024, available at https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/international-criminal-court-prosecutor-statement-arrest-warrants-hamas-israeli-2024-05-20/, accessed 22 August 2025.

7. International Criminal Court, “Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court,” (consolidated), available at https://www.icc-cpi.int/sites/default/files/2024-05/Rome-Statute-eng.pdf, accessed 22 August 2025, paras. [Art. 6; Art. 7; Art. 25; Art. 28; Art. 70].

VII. Individual Criminal Responsibility of Mahmoud Abbas and His Inner Circle

Mahmoud Abbas, President of the Palestinian Authority.

As President and de facto commander-in-chief of Palestinian Authority forces, Mahmoud Abbas exercised effective authority and control over the Preventive Security Service (PSS), the General Intelligence Service (GIS), the National Security Forces (NSF), and the Presidential Guard. During the 2023–2025 period, he personally maintained and directed a policy of security coordination with Israeli authorities during an active campaign of mass atrocities, while his forces conducted cordons, arrests, and crowd-control operations that overlapped in time and space with Israeli military operations in refugee camps; oversaw budgetary decisions that restricted support to Gaza during siege conditions; and provided political cover for the repression of protests and media in the West Bank.

Under Article 28 concerning command responsibility, Abbas bears superior (command) responsibility for crimes committed by forces under his effective control where he knew or, owing to the circumstances, should have known and failed to prevent or repress those crimes or to submit the matter to competent authorities for investigation and prosecution. Under Article 25, he is also individually liable for ordering, aiding and abetting, or otherwise contributing to war crimes and crimes against humanity, and for complicity in genocide where the elements of knowledge and substantial assistance are met.

Sources

1. Palestinian Basic Law, “Article 39 (Commander-in-Chief) — Consolidated Text,” 2003 (as amended 2005), available at https://cyrilla.org/entity/3cc2w9padlxgob9en707r2j4i?file=15892807046917i5ocnz0res.pdf, accessed 22 August 2025.

2. Palestinian Basic Law, “Basic Law (English portal),” undated, available at https://www.palestinianbasiclaw.org/basic-law, accessed 22 August 2025.

3. Palestinian Basic Law, “2005 Amendments (English portal),” 2005, available at https://www.palestinianbasiclaw.org/basic-law/2005-amendments, accessed 22 August 2025.

4. Reuters, “Palestinian court orders Al Jazeera closed in West Bank,” 23 January 2025, available at https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/palestinian-court-orders-al-jazeera-closed-west-bank-2025-01-23/, accessed 22 August 2025.

5. Reuters, “Palestinian security forces try to exert control in volatile West Bank,” 17 December 2024, available at https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/palestinian-security-forces-try-exert-control-volatile-west-bank-2024-12-17/, accessed 22 August 2025.

6. Al Jazeera, “PA’s Abbas overhauls payments for families of slain and jailed Palestinians,” 10 February 2025, available at https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/2/10/pas-abbas-overhauls-payments-for-families-of-slain-and-jailed-palestinians, accessed 22 August 2025.

7. The Wall Street Journal, “Palestinians vow to end controversial prisoner payment program,” 11 February 2025, available at https://www.wsj.com/world/middle-east/palestinians-vow-to-end-controversial-prisoner-payment-program-1b614340, accessed 22 August 2025.

8. Palestine Economic Policy Research Institute (MAS), “Special Bulletin No. 10: Fiscal Crisis and Withheld Clearance Revenues,” September 2024, available at https://mas.ps/cached_uploads/download/2024/09/02/special-bulletin-10-eng-1725280082.pdf, accessed 22 August 2025.

9. International Court of Justice, “Order: Application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide in the Gaza Strip (South Africa v. Israel), Provisional Measures,” 26 January 2024, available at https://www.icj-cij.org/sites/default/files/case-related/192/192-20240126-ord-01-00-en.pdf, accessed 22 August 2025.

10. International Court of Justice, “Order: Additional Provisional Measures (South Africa v. Israel),” 28 March 2024, available at https://www.icj-cij.org/sites/default/files/case-related/192/192-20240328-ord-01-00-en.pdf, accessed 22 August 2025.

11. International Court of Justice, “Order: Concerning the situation in Rafah (South Africa v. Israel),” 24 May 2024, available at https://www.icj-cij.org/sites/default/files/case-related/192/192-20240524-ord-01-00-en.pdf, accessed 22 August 2025.

Majed Faraj, Head of General Intelligence.

As head and director of GIS, Majed Faraj is alleged to have been a principal architect of day-to-day security coordination with Israeli agencies and to have overseen the preparation and transmission of intelligence packages and dossiers including name lists and location data used to target activists, journalists, and community organizers in Jenin, Nur Shams, Balata and elsewhere.

He exercised control over detention and interrogation centers where torture and ill-treatment have been repeatedly alleged; with allegations of torture, including sleep deprivation, prolonged beatings, electric shocks, and threats of sexual violence.

His role and his conduct link him to crimes against humanity, including torture and persecution, and engages Article 25(3)(c) and (d) (aiding/abetting and contribution to group crimes) by providing intelligence that enabled lethal assaults that resulted in unlawful killings or unlawful confinement; and Article 7 (persecution, imprisonment, torture) where the pattern against political opponents and journalists is established. As a superior, Faraj bears both direct and command responsibility and incurs Article 28 responsibility for acts of subordinates where he failed to prevent or repress crimes or to submit them for investigation.

Sources

1. European Council on Foreign Relations, “Majed Faraj,” undated, available at https://ecfr.eu/special/mapping_palestinian_politics/majed_faraj/, accessed 22 August 2025.

2. Middle East Eye, “Who is Majed Faraj, the Palestinian spy chief?,” 7 March 2025, available at https://www.middleeasteye.net/profile/who-majed-faraj-palestinian-spy-chief, accessed 22 August 2025.

3. The Times of Israel, “PA intel chief to meet CIA officials in Washington,” 28 April 2025, available at https://www.timesofisrael.com/in-first-since-trumps-return-pa-intel-chief-to-meet-cia-officials-in-washington/, accessed 22 August 2025.

4. Associated Press, “Palestinian intelligence chief meets U.S. security officials,” 2017, available at https://apnews.com/general-news-united-states-government-baa975b87ee44b5e874ef0fc5090cd33, accessed 22 August 2025.

5. The Times of Israel, “PA delegation in Washington for first security consultations of Biden era,” 19 June 2021, available at https://www.timesofisrael.com/pa-delegation-in-washington-for-first-security-consultations-of-biden-era/, accessed 22 August 2025.

6. Ynet (Hebrew), “Report: Plan to train Gaza force under PA intelligence,” April 2024, available at https://www.ynetnews.com/article/hkcjtbxap, accessed 22 August 2025.

7. Middle East Monitor, “Palestinian intelligence man Faraj as governor of Gaza—why, when and how?,” 20 March 2024, available at https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20240320-palestinian-intelligence-man-faraj-as-governor-of-gaza-why-when-and-how/, accessed 22 August 2025.

Hussein al-Sheikh, Minister and Secretary-General of the Palestine Liberation Organization.

Hussein al-Sheikh is a principal political and civil-affairs liaison with Israel and with foreign governments and is widely regarded as one of the most powerful figures in the Palestinian Authority after Mahmoud Abbas. He is alleged to have supported or directed or ordered suppression of peaceful demonstrations and to have played an instrumental role in fiscal and administrative decisions to withhold funds from Gaza during the siege.

His public statements and policy advocacy minimized or denied the severity of the atrocities in Gaza and provided narrative cover that aligned with Israeli messaging. He has been linked to punitive measures against Palestinian Authority employees who expressed sympathy with Gaza. These acts, where proven, constitute persecution on political grounds (Article 7(1)(h)) and may amount to aiding/abetting collective-punishment-type war crimes (Article 8) and contribution to crimes under Article 25(3)(d); rendering him individually liable for persecution as a crime against humanity on the basis of political opinion and origin and for complicity in war crimes including collective punishment.

Sources

1. Reuters, “Palestinian president Abbas names ally al-Sheikh vice president,” 26 April 2025, available at https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/palestinian-president-abbas-names-ally-al-sheikh-vice-president-2025-04-26/, accessed 22 August 2025.

2. Associated Press, “Who is Hussein al-Sheikh, Abbas’s new deputy?,” 26 April 2025, available at https://apnews.com/article/palestinians-hussein-alsheikh-abbas-west-bank-4121f1d2e6c14886a6d42f1a9c384afc, accessed 22 August 2025.

3. WAFA, “Hussein al-Sheikh meets international partners on civil affairs coordination,” 3 September 2024, available at https://english.wafa.ps/Pages/Details/139220, accessed 22 August 2025.

4. The Times of Israel, “Abbas appoints longtime aide Hussein al-Sheikh as number 2 in PA,” 26 April 2025, available at https://www.timesofisrael.com/abbas-appoints-longtime-aide-hussein-al-sheikh-as-number-2-in-pa/, accessed 22 August 2025.

5. Reuters, “Abbas confidant Hussein al-Sheikh takes senior PLO role,” 26 May 2022, available at https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/abbas-confidant-hussein-al-sheikh-takes-senior-plo-role-2022-05-26/, accessed 22 August 2025.

Ziad Hab al-Reeh, Minister of Interior and former head of the Preventive Security service.

Ziad Hab al-Reeh exercised direct oversight of police and internal security. Reports indicate that arrests of journalists and activists increased significantly under his authority and that PSS/National Security Forces (NSF) units under his control coordinated with Israeli forces in Jenin and Nablus, merging Palestinian Authority operations into the occupation’s strategy. He bears responsibility for ordering or inducing unlawful arrests and torture, meeting thresholds for crimes against humanity and war crimes under Articles 7 and 8 and individual responsibility under Article 25 paragraph 3 subparagraph (b). He therefore faces individual liability for ordering or inducing unlawful arrests and torture (Article 25(3)(b)), and for crimes against humanity of imprisonment and persecution (Article 7(1)(e), 7(1)(h)), with potential superior (command) responsibility under Article 28 for abuses by subordinates. In addition, where torture or cruel treatment is established, liability attaches under Article 7(1)(f) and Article 8(2)(a)(ii); where coordinated PA operations substantially assisted Israeli military assaults that resulted in civilian harm, aiding-and-abetting and group-crime liability arise under Article 25(3)(c)–(d); and where arbitrary detention conditions or enforced disappearances are shown, further Article 7(1)(i), 7(1)(k) exposure applies

Sources

1. European Council on Foreign Relations, “Ziad Hab Al-Reeh,” undated, available at https://ecfr.eu/special/mapping_palestinian_politics/ziad_hab_al_reeh/, accessed 22 August 2025.

2. WAFA, “President swears in Ziad Hab Al-Reeh as Interior Minister,” 2022, available at https://english.wafa.ps/Pages/Details/128508, accessed 22 August 2025.

3. PASSIA, “Ziad Hab Al-Reeh — Biography,” undated, available at https://passia.org/people/138, accessed 22 August 2025.

4. Reuters, “Palestinian security forces try to exert control in volatile West Bank,” 17 December 2024, available at https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/palestinian-security-forces-try-exert-control-volatile-west-bank-2024-12-17/, accessed 22 August 2025.

Nasser al-Burini, commander in the National Security Forces.

General Nasser al-Burini is reported to have commanded NSF operations in the northern West Bank and to have overseen cordon-and-search activities in Nur Shams and Jenin temporally adjacent to Israeli incursions. Eyewitnesses accuse forces under his command of using lethal force against unarmed civilians protesting Israeli militery assaults . He is further alleged to have facilitated transfers of detainees into Israeli custody in violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention. His knowledge and intent in cooperating with hostile acts by an occupying force make him culpable for aiding and abetting war crimes.If substantiated, these acts may constitute murder as a crime against humanity (Article 7(1)(a)) and the war crime of unlawful transfer or confinement (Article 8(2)(a)(vii)). Modes of liability include direct perpetration/ordering (Article 25(3)(a)–(b)), aiding/abetting (Article 25(3)(c)), and superior responsibility (Article 28).

Sources

1. WAFA (Arabic), “اللواء ناصر البريني — بيانات وأنشطة الارتباط العسكري/اللجنة الأمنية المشتركة,” undated, available at https://www.wafa.ps/Pages/Details/83774, accessed 22 August 2025.

2. WAFA (Arabic), “نشاطات اللواء ناصر البريني — الترتيبات الأمنية المشتركة,” undated, available at https://www.wafa.ps/Pages/Details/148865, accessed 22 August 2025.

3. PASSIA, “Nasser Al-Burini — Entry,” undated, available at https://passia.org/people/1027, accessed 22 August 2025.

Bahaa Balusha, senior operative in Gaza, GIS/PSS.

Bahaa Balusha (also spelled Balousha) has been identified as a liaison between the Office of Mahmoud Abbas and security units involved in unlawful use of force and mass arrests targeting civilians. During the war in Gaza, he handled sensitive files, coordinated surveillance, monitoring of social media; the arrest of individuals and silencing of whistleblowers accused of “spreading rumors” concerning Mahmoud Abbas and the Palestinian Authority's complicity. Allegations include participation in or direction of incommunicado detentions. If proven that he ordered or participated in enforced disappearances, he is responsible for crimes against humanity under Article 7 paragraph 1 subparagraph (i); persecution and imprisonment engage Article 7(1)(h) and 7(1)(e). His liability arises under Article 25(3) for ordering/assisting, with potential superior responsibility if he exercised effective control over the teams involved.

Sources

1. Al Jazeera, “Mourners storm Gaza parliament,” 11 December 2006, available at https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2006/12/11/mourners-storm-gaza-parliament/, accessed 22 August 2025.

2. SFGate (Reuters/NYT text), “Gaza gunmen kill 3 sons of Fatah security official,” 12 December 2006, available at https://www.sfgate.com/politics/article/Gaza-gunmen-kill-3-sons-of-Fatah-security-official-2465511.php, accessed 22 August 2025.

3. The Independent, “Sons of Hamas opponent shot dead in Gaza,” 12 December 2006, available at https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/sons-of-hamas-opponent-shot-dead-in-gaza-428107.html, accessed 22 August 2025.

4. Al Jazeera, “Forces deployed after Gaza killings,” 12 December 2006, available at https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2006/12/12/forces-deployed-after-gaza-killings/, accessed 22 August 2025.

5. Israel Hayom, “Abbas militias are helping IDF fight Hamas” (analysis), 27 July 2025, available at https://www.israelhayom.com/2025/07/27/abbas-militias-are-helping-idf-fight-hamas/, accessed 22 August 2025.

Yasser Abbas and Tareq Abbas, sons of Mahmoud Abbas.

Although not in formal Palestinian Authority posts, public reporting and corporate records attribute to Yasser and Tareq Abbas senior positions and significant equity in companies operating in investment, construction, logistics, supply, advertising, media, and related sectors. In the context of siege and mass atrocity, these are chokepoint industries. There are credible claims that the Abbas family, including both sons of Mahmoud Abbas, benefited and profited from monopolies and supply contracts, as well as from reconstruction funds and aid shipments that allegedly diverted resources away from public needs, even as civilians in Gaza and in the West Bank endured acute shortages.

Yasser Abbas and Tareq Abbas are widely reported to control substantial business interests and hold significant economic power with considerable influence over the Palestinian people. Their business operations intersect directly with public procurement and media. They have been implicated in corrupt dealings that indirectly fund and sustain the repressive machinery of Mahmoud Abbas. Such profiteering during conflict can constitute pillage, a war crime under Article 8(2)(b)(xvi), if proven that they deliberately took goods meant for civilians. Both sons have also been involved in media ventures and are suspected of leveraging those outlets to push propaganda that justified Mahmoud Abbas’s oppressive measures. By reinforcing narratives aligned with the occupier’s interests and by benefiting financially from the status quo, they may be considered participants in a joint criminal enterprise enabling the continued commission of international crimes against the Palestinian people.

Open-source reporting has indicated that Yasser and Tareq Abbas hold dual nationality and foreign residency footprints, factors which are relevant to jurisdiction, service of process, and asset restraint. These issues should be confirmed through state cooperation. Prior investigative reporting, including leaks-based disclosures, ties Tareq Abbas to shareholdings and directorships in major Palestinian corporate groups, while Yasser Abbas has long been linked in public controversies over contracting and foreign assets. Although some of these records predate the relevant period, they provide probable leads for tracing dividends, inter-company loans, and tender flows into the atrocity window.

If, during the relevant period, entities owned or controlled by Yasser or Tareq Abbas received state-linked tenders for fuel, power, food, medical, or reconstruction goods, diverted or profited from goods intended for civilians, or provided services such as logistics, communications, or narrative operations with knowledge of the underlying attack on a civilian population, then liability arises under Article 8(2)(b)(xvi) (pillage) and Article 25(3)(c)–(d) (aiding and abetting; knowing contribution to group crimes). Similarly, if their media or advertising platforms were tasked or paid by Palestinian Authority organs to craft messaging that legitimized repression, discredited humanitarian actors, or suppressed documentation of abuses, this supports charges of persecution under Article 7(1)(h) and other inhumane acts under Article 7(1)(k) when part of a widespread or systematic attack.

Allegations during this period consistently point to profiteering tied to public-need sectors and the use of media platforms to advance narratives that legitimized repression. If evidence confirms diversion of goods or funds intended for civilians during the conflict, pillage under Article 8(2)(b)(xvi) is implicated. If corporate or financial structures were used to materially support unlawful operations, liability attaches under Article 25(3)(c) and (d) for aiding and abetting or contributing to group crimes. Given the ongoing disputes in the public record over the scope of their assets and roles, international investigators, prosecutors, or human rights monitors should prioritize forensic accounting, beneficial-ownership mapping, and procurement audits to establish both the actus reus and the mens rea. Their profiteering during conflict, combined with their involvement in media enterprises disseminating narratives justifying repressive measures, further anchors their role in a joint criminal enterprise that enabled ongoing crimes against humanity and potential genocide.

Sources

1. Mail & Guardian (Reuters reprint), “More than $2-million in USAID contracts for Abbas’s sons,” 22 April 2009, available at https://mg.co.za/article/2009-04-22-more-than-2million-in-usaid-contracts-for-abbass-sons/, accessed 22 August 2025.

2. The Free Library (Reuters mirror), “Firms run by Abbas’ sons get lucrative US contracts,” 22 April 2009, available at https://www.thefreelibrary.com/Firms%2Brun%2Bby%2BAbass%27%2Bsons%2Bget%2Blucrative%2BUS%2Bcontracts.-a0198320156, accessed 22 August 2025.

3. Middle East Eye, “Panama Papers reveal Abbas’s son has $1m in offshore company,” April 2016, available at https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/panama-papers-reveal-abbass-son-has-1m-offshore-company, accessed 22 August 2025.

4. Arab Palestinian Investment Company (APIC), “Annual Report 2020,” 2021, available at https://www.apic.ps/data/sites/1/media/annual_report/EN/2020%20APIC%20Annual%20Report%20English.pdf, accessed 22 August 2025.

5. Foreign Policy, “The Brothers Abbas,” 5 June 2012, available at https://foreignpolicy.com/2012/06/05/the-brothers-abbas/, accessed 22 August 2025.

6. Wikipedia, “Yasser Abbas,” undated, available at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yasser_Abbas, accessed 22 August 2025.

7. International Criminal Court, “Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (consolidated),” May 2024, available at https://www.icc-cpi.int/sites/default/files/2024-05/Rome-Statute-eng.pdf, accessed 22 August 2025.

8. International Criminal Court, “Elements of Crimes,” 2011, available at https://www.icc-cpi.int/sites/default/files/2011-03/ElementsOfCrimesEng.pdf, accessed 22 August 2025.

9. International Committee of the Red Cross, “Customary IHL Rule 52 — Pillage,” undated, available at https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/customary-ihl/eng/docs/v1_rul_rule52, accessed 22 August 2025.

10. International Committee of the Red Cross, “Customary IHL Rule 53 — Starvation of civilians,” undated, available at https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/customary-ihl/eng/docs/v1_rul_rule53, accessed 22 August 2025.

11. International Committee of the Red Cross, “Customary IHL Rule 55 — Access for humanitarian relief,” undated, available at https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/customary-ihl/eng/docs/v1_rul_rule55, accessed 22 August 2025.

VIII. Legal Analysis

Genocide under Article 6.

Where principal perpetrators inflicted conditions of life calculated to destroy part of the Palestinian population—through starvation, denial of medical care, and destruction of essential civilian infrastructure—officials of the Palestinian Authority who knowingly provided assistance with a substantial effect may incur liability for aiding and abetting genocide under Article 25(3)(c). Sustained security coordination with Israeli forces, suppression of relief and community mobilization, and the deliberate creation of fiscal choke points each constitute forms of assistance that materially contributed to the genocidal campaign. Shared genocidal intent is not required for complicity; the standard is met where knowledge of the principal crimes and substantial contribution to their commission are established.

Crimes against humanity under Article 7.

The alleged pattern of conduct—including persecution on political and ethnic grounds, murder, extermination through starvation, imprisonment and other severe deprivation of liberty, torture, forcible transfer, and other inhumane acts—was carried out as part of a widespread and systematic attack directed against a civilian population, with knowledge of the attack. Where these acts are shown to have been undertaken pursuant to or in furtherance of an organizational policy, they satisfy the requirements of the Article 7 chapeau. Liability attaches both for direct participation under Article 25(3) and for superior responsibility under Article 28.

War crimes under Article 8.

The acts alleged include starvation of civilians as a method of warfare, willful impediment of relief supplies, attacks against protected sites such as clinics and hospitals, unlawful transfers, torture and cruel treatment of persons in custody, pillage, and collective punishment. Specific provisions engaged include Article 8(2)(b)(xxv) (starvation and impediment of relief), Article 8(2)(b)(ix) (attacks against medical, religious, and educational sites), Article 8(2)(a)(vii) (unlawful transfer and confinement), Article 8(2)(a)(ii) (torture or cruel treatment), Article 8(2)(a)(iv) (extensive destruction of property not justified by military necessity), and Article 8(2)(b)(xvi) (pillage). The requisite nexus to armed conflict is established where Palestinian Authority conduct was integrated with, or materially facilitated, concurrent Israeli military operations.

Individual and command responsibility under Articles 25 and 28.

Mahmoud Abbas and the named officials bear individual criminal responsibility for ordering, soliciting, inducing, aiding and abetting, or otherwise contributing to the commission of war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide within the meaning of Article 25(3)(a)–(d). As superiors exercising effective authority and control over the Preventive Security Service, General Intelligence, National Security Forces, and the Presidential Guard, they further incur liability under Article 28. In light of longstanding patterns of abuse, widespread public reporting, and repeated complaints, Abbas and his senior officials knew or, at a minimum, should have known of crimes committed by subordinates and failed to take necessary and reasonable measures to prevent or repress their commission or to submit them for investigation and prosecution.

IX. Request for Investigation, Protective Measures, and Arrest Warrants

We demand that these findings be taken up by international courts, investigative bodies, and human rights organizations. A formal investigation should examine the actions and omissions of Mahmoud Abbas, President of the Palestinian Authority, and the named officials for genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes committed during the period October 2023 through August 2025. Where the evidence meets the legal threshold, arrest warrants must be pursued.

1. Investigation of Mahmoud Abbas and named officials. Open a formal investigation into the actions and omissions of Mahmoud Abbas and the named officials for genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes during the period October 2023 through August 2025.

2. Arrest warrants if evidentiary threshold met. Issue arrest warrants if the evidentiary threshold is met for the crimes specified, including for aiding and abetting and command responsibility.

3. Financial profiteering and pillage (Yasser/Tareq Abbas). Investigate financial profiteering and alleged pillage involving Yasser Abbas and Tareq Abbas, including diversion of goods or funds intended for civilians.

4. Witness protection for Hasanat Abu Mu’ailiq and other indigenous/refugee communities. Provide witness protection and confidentiality measures for survivors and witnesses from the Hasanat Abu Mu’ailiq tribe and from other indigenous and refugee communities who face intimidation by Palestinian Authority security services.

We call on international bodies, human rights organizations, and the wider public to open a formal investigation into the actions and omissions of Mahmoud Abbas, President of the Palestinian Authority, and the named officials for genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes committed during the period October 2023 through August 2025. Particular attention should be given to their role in the Jenin operation and other security actions targeting refugee camps, as well as fiscal and administrative decisions that facilitated siege measures in Gaza. The investigation should assess whether orders issued or approved by Mahmoud Abbas materially contributed to or facilitated war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by Israeli forces, including unlawful killings, forcible transfer, persecution, and starvation of civilians.

International bodies, human rights organizations, and the wider public is further requested to examine the involvement of Yasser Abbas, Tareq Abbas, and other associated officials in financial profiteering, including diversion of goods or funds intended for civilians, profiteering from reconstruction and aid flows, and the use of monopolies and corporate structures to sustain repression. Allegations of pillage under Article 8(2)(b)(xvi) and financial crimes that contributed to deprivation of civilians should be investigated through forensic accounting, procurement audits, and beneficial-ownership mapping. While some evidence is earlier in time, there is sufficient public reporting about financial enrichment and control over chokepoint industries to justify immediate inquiry.

If the evidentiary threshold is met, the Prosecutor should apply for the issuance of arrest warrants under Articles 6, 7, and 8 of the Rome Statute for Mahmoud Abbas and any co-perpetrators who knowingly participated in, ordered, aided, or abetted genocide, war crimes, or crimes against humanity. Responsibility attaches not only for direct perpetrators but also for those who, by aiding and abetting or by exercising command responsibility, substantially assisted or failed to prevent and punish these crimes.

Finally, the Office is requested to adopt protective and confidentiality measures for survivors and witnesses from the Hasanat Abu Mu’ailiq tribe and from other indigenous and refugee communities who face intimidation and harassment from Palestinian Authority security services when they attempt to document violations. Ensuring their protection is essential to preserving testimony and preventing reprisals.

X. Annexes

Annex I: Martyrs of the Hasanat Abu Mu’ailiq Tribe in Gaza (Partial List, October 2023 – August 2025)

Photographic evidence: The family possesses a photograph documenting the starvation death of Ahmad al-Hasanat.

The impact described here rests on roster of 128 identified victims. Within this roster, losses fall across multiple branches (with official ID numbers recorded for most victims), and the pattern of kin-clustered fatalities demonstrates community-level harm. The demographic profile shows a systematic strike on the tribe’s continuity. Children and adolescents account for over a third of all deaths: seven infants and toddlers aged 0–2 (approximately 5.5% of the total), twenty-one children aged 3–12 (16.4%), and fourteen teenagers aged 13–17 (10.9%). The removal of these forty-two minors (32.8%) erases a material share of the tribe’s immediate future; pupils, apprentices, and the next generation of the tribe's caregivers. Thirty-six young adults aged 18–29 (28.1%) and forty-two adults aged 30–59 (32.8%) constitute the majority of the dead (60.9% across the 18–59 working-age span). This is the cohort that sustains the tribe, funds education, and carries day-to-day social obligations; their loss precipitates a predictable collapse in income, guardianship capacity, and access to schooling for surviving dependents. Five elders aged 60+ (3.9%) complete the picture. In practical terms, the tribe has simultaneously lost future capacity, present livelihoods, and the custodians of the tribe's custom and memory.

The consequences for the tribe follows directly from that structure. A super-majority of the deceased belonged to working age. Their deaths extinguish wage work, at the same time that care requirements for surviving dependents intensify. Families that relied on a single earner face immediate arrears and asset liquidation; households with multiple related deaths within the same family face sustained insolvency without external relief. Because fatalities are kin-clustered, the shock is not evenly distributed across the tribe; families served by the affected branches experience simultaneous losses which depresses recovery for other families as well.

Elders and senior adults ordinarily mediate disputes, transmit the tribe's customary law, and maintain ritual and community records. Their deaths degrade the tribe’s internal dispute-resolution capacity and its ability to negotiate services and protection. The same pattern of clustered losses weakens the horizontal bonds between the tribe’s branches; bonds that normally spread risk, share child-care and food, and keep orphaned or bereaved households inside functioning kin networks. In education, the death of caregivers and the diversion of surviving adolescents (especially girls) outside of schools, produce foreseeable interruption in education and possible dropout, eroding the tribe’s human capital over the medium term.

These outcomes were foreseeable from the pattern of harm recorded in the annex and are measurable in the percentages set out above: roughly one third minors, roughly three fifths working age, and a critical cohort of elders. Taken together, the figures evidence serious injury to the Hasanat Abu Mu’ailiq tribe as a protected indigenous Bedouin community: a simultaneous strike on reproduction of the group (through the death of children and adolescents), on its present social and economic viability (through the death of working-age adults), and on its cultural continuity (through the death of elders).

• Adults (≈33%) – the backbone of household income, authority, and care.

• Young adults (≈28%) – students, early-career earners, new parents, and future leadership.

• Children/teens (≈33%) – a third of losses are minors (including 7 babies)

• Elderly (≈4%) – smaller in count but high in intangible loss of memory and custom.

Note: The following is a partial list of one hundred twenty eight confirmed martyrs from the Hasanat Abu Mu’ailiq tribe killed in Gaza during the period covered by this report.

Babies (0–2)

Abu Mu'ailiq

1. 444728802 | Obeida Bilal Yousef Abu Mailaq — 0, Male

Hasanat

1. 470226234 | Taj Abdullah Atef Al-Hasanat — 0, Female

2. 444362115 | Saber Jabr Salman Al-Hasanat — 0, Male

3. 444187181 | Anas Tariq Mohammed Al-Hasanat — 0, Male

4. 444425870 | Yumna Muin Abdel Mohsen Al-Hasanat — 1, Female

5. 444867956 | Taher Ahmed Taher Al-Hasanat — 2, Male

Mashukhi

• 445066210 | Mutaz Adel Ahmed Al-Mashukhi — 2, Male

Children (3–12)

Abu Mu'ailiq

1. 443146360 | Sidra Islam Yousef Abu Mailaq — 3, Female

2. 443145362 | Jinan Ammar Yousef Abu Mailaq — 3, Female

3. 441202850 | Ahmed Ismail Fayez Abu Mailaq — 4, Male

4. 440524478 | Yousef Omar Yousef Abu Mailaq — 5, Male

5. 437179310 | Kinda Islam Yousef Abu Mailaq — 7, Female

6. 437179286 | Kinzi Islam Yousef Abu Mailaq — 7, Female

7. 437154537 | Ghani Ammar Yousef Abu Mailaq — 7, Female

8. 435192091 | Jinan Ismail Fayez Abu Mailaq — 8, Female

9. 434013314 | Sami Omar Yousef Abu Mailaq — 10, Male

10. 430421164 | Lama Bakr Yousef Abu Mailaq — 11, Female

11. 430541748 | Mohammed Bakr Yousef Abu Mailaq — 12, Male

Hasanat

1. 440465755 | Siwar Mahmoud Taher Al-Hasanat — 5, Female

2. 435293816 | Yazan Mohammed Ali Al-Hasanat — 9, Male

3. 434795332 | Hossam Falah Atallah Al-Hasanat — 9, Male

4. 434646220 | Suhaib Ahmed Taher Al-Hasanat — 9, Male

5. 433242336 | Dania Ahmed Taher Al-Hasanat — 11, Female

6. 430087601 | Mahmoud Mazen Taher Al-Hasanat — 12, Male

Mashukhi

1. 440877124 | Mira Abdullah Sayed Al-Mashukhi — 4, Female

2. 440585578 | Sanaa Adel Ahmed Al-Mashukhi — 5, Female

Zair

1. 432775765 | Yousef Nasri Yousef Al-Zair — 10, Male

2. 433208071 | Liyan Rami Adnan Al-Zair — 11, Female

Teenagers (13–17)

Abu Mu'ailiq

1. 427482278 | Raghad Omar Yousef Abu Mailaq — 14, Female

2. 426486825 | Ghanim Bakr Yousef Abu Mailaq — 14, Male

3. 424767010 | Bashar Ismail Fayez Abu Mailaq — 16, Male

4. 424691541 | Suleiman Fawzi Fayez Abu Mailaq — 16, Male

5. 424629749 | Duaa Bakr Yousef Abu Mailaq — 16, Female

6. 424350197 | Raneem Omar Yousef Abu Mailaq — 16, Female

7. 424245413 | Menna Al-Rahman Yahya Mohammed Abu Mailaq — 17, Female

Hasanat

1. 429780281 | Malak Jibril Salem Al-Hasanat — 13, Female

2. 429226681 | Maria Ahmed Taher Al-Hasanat — 14, Female

3. 424043842 | Ahmed Mazen Taher Al-Hasanat — 17, Male

4. 422714055 | Aya Adnan Yousef Al-Hasanat — 17, Female

5. 422691436 | Mutaz Allah Taher Atiya Al-Hasanat — 17, Male

Afash

1. 425811916 | Mutaz Billah Ramadan Khaled Al-Afash — 15, Male

Mashukhi

1. 424460004 | Yousef Said Salem Al-Mashukhi — 17, Male

Young Adults (18–29)

Abu Mu'ailiq

1. 409937059 | Hamza Ismail Fayez Abu Mailaq — 19, Male

2. 409072386 | Riham Fawzi Fayez Abu Mailaq — 19, Female

3. 408950129 | Rahaf Omar Yousef Abu Mailaq — 19, Female

4. 408557957 | Hamed Yahya Mohammed Abu Mailaq — 21, Male

5. 408513232 | Dima Ismail Fayez Abu Mailaq — 21, Female

6. 406131284 | Karim Yousef Salem Abu Mailaq — 21, Male

7. 405980665 | Abdullah Yahya Mohammed Abu Mailaq — 23, Male

8. 405968447 | Lina Sami Yousef Abu Mailaq — 23, Female

9. 405189812 | Tariq Ismail Fayez Abu Mailaq — 24, Male

10. 402922991 | Bilal Fawzi Fayez Abu Mailaq — 26, Male

11. 410582290 | Duaa Abdel Latif Abdel Karim Abu Mailaq — 29, Female

12. 400677175 | Mohammed Adnan Suleiman Abu Mailaq — 29, Male

13. 407206853 | Mohammed Jihad Abdel Majid Abu Mailaq — 22, Male

Hasanat

1. 424008266 | Weam Jaber Hassan Al-Hasanat — 18, Male

2. 420411514 | Mohammed Mazen Taher Al-Hasanat — 19, Male

3. 409276474 | Izz Al-Din Taher Atiya Al-Hasanat — 20, Male

4. 409070463 | Siraj Ahmed Zaal Al-Hasanat — 20, Male

5. 406033746 | Tasneem Omar Mohammed Al-Hasanat — 23, Female

6. 405886821 | Hamza Jaber Hassan Al-Hasanat — 24, Male

7. 404277360 | Salsabeel Taher Atiya Al-Hasanat — 25, Female

8. 403306681 | Haitham Basem Ali Al-Hasanat — 26, Male

9. 401870985 | Walaa Taher Atiya Al-Hasanat — 27, Female

10. 411064223 | Izz Al-Din Badr Mohammed Al-Hasanat — 27, Male

11. 401199922 | Abdullah Atef Abdullah Al-Hasanat — 28, Male

Hasanat-Ashour

1. 406065987 | Duaa Ahmed Hasanat Ashour — 23, Female

2. 405244492 | Ibtisam Mohammed Hasanat Ashour — 24, Female

3. 403290752 | Baraa Ahmed Hasanat Ashour — 25, Female

Afash

1. 422617878 | Sami Kamel Salem Al-Afash — 18, Male

2. 408977585 | Salim Ramadan Khaled Al-Afash — 21, Male

3. 408564078 | Louay Ismail Mahmoud Al-Afash — 21, Male

4. 402473805 | Mustafa Ramadan Khaled Al-Afash — 27, Male

5. 401145529 | Wael Ali Khaled Al-Afash — 28, Male

Mashukhi

1. 424197994 | Hala Ismail Salama Al-Mashukhi — 18, Female

Ashaal

1. 804740595 | Abdel Rahman Nabil Abdel Rahman Al-Ashaal — 29, Male

Adults (30–59)

Abu Mu'ailiq

1. 802639799 | Younis Mousa Kamel Abu Mailaq — 33, Male

2. 802484758 | Ammar Yousef Salem Abu Mailaq — 33, Male

3. 800115776 | Abeer Abdullah Suleiman Abu Mailaq — 40, Female

4. 991206384 | Nima Hassan Suleiman Abu Mailaq — 42, Male

5. 991205915 | Samar Majid Kamel Abu Mailaq — 42, Female

6. 951437193 | Islam Majid Kamel Abu Mailaq — 44, Female

7. 900255100 | Suhaid Abdel Karim Mustafa Abu Mailaq — 49, Female

8. 412257214 | Yola Vladimir Nicola Abu Mailaq — 48, Female

9. 900658816 | Ismail Fayez Suleiman Abu Mailaq — 45, Male

10. 969070374 | Fawzi Fayez Suleiman Abu Mailaq — 54, Male

Hasanat

1. 804521078 | Ahmed Hasanat Ahmed Hasanat — 30, Male

2. 803548742 | Muath Taher Atiya Al-Hasanat — 31, Male

3. 803518174 | Abdel Rahman Muharib Abdullah Al-Hasanat — 32, Male

4. 803060730 | Mohammed Badr Mohammed Al-Hasanat — 30, Male

5. 803054329 | Musab Badr Mohammed Al-Hasanat — 32, Male

6. 802567974 | Ahmed Mohammed Mohammed Al-Hasanat — 33, Male

7. 802451211 | Fatima Talal Mohammed Al-Hasanat — 34, Female

8. 802258830 | Islam Salah Ibrahim Al-Hasanat — 34, Female

9. 802206946 | Bahaa Mohammed Abdullah Al-Hasanat — 36, Male

10. 801341413 | Tasahil Taher Atiya Al-Hasanat — 38, Female

11. 800575250 | Abdullah Ali Mohammed Al-Hasanat — 38, Male

12. 800575136 | Marei Badr Mohammed Al-Hasanat — 38, Male

13. 800116451 | Ahmed Taher Atiya Al-Hasanat — 40, Male

14. 926748583 | Sanaa Salama Hussein Al-Hasanat — 40, Female

15. 900523143 | Jibril Salem Jibril Al-Hasanat — 45, Male

16. 900509886 | Murad Awad Hassan Al-Hasanat — 45, Male

17. 918481854 | Mazen Taher Atiya Al-Hasanat — 50, Male

18. 411160914 | Zainab Zeidan Daoud Al-Hasanat — 53, Female

19. 926983131 | Amer Abdel Aziz Breik Al-Hasanat — 57, Male

Afash

1. 800760282 | Khaled Samir Khaled Al-Afash — 37, Male

2. 803175504 | Fayez Ali Khaled Al-Afash — 33, Male

3. 802709782 | Tamer Nizar Khaled Al-Afash — 33, Male

4. 803176163 | Ahmed Zuhair Mohammed Al-Afash — 32, Male

Mashukhi

1. 803611821 | Ismail Sayed Salama Al-Mashukhi — 31, Male

2. 803572411 | Ahmed Tawfiq Salama Al-Mashukhi — 32, Male

3. 803308188 | Mohammed Ibrahim Salama Al-Mashukhi — 32, Male

4. 803145135 | Alaa Ahmed Mohammed Al-Mashukhi — 32, Female

5. 801872219 | Yousef Hammad Salem Al-Mashukhi — 36, Male

6. 801377755 | Asaad Al-Sayed Salama Al-Mashukhi — 38, Male

7. 926736760 | Adel Ahmed Hammad Al-Mashukhi — 40, Male

Zair

1. 990593857 | Najah Mahmoud Abdel Rahman Al-Zair — 50, Female

Abu Mazid

1. 932748676 | Abdullah Hussein Abdullah Abu Mazid — 54, Male

Elderly (60+)

Abu Mailaq

1. 925052938 | Raisa Abdullah Suleiman Abu Mailaq — 60, Female

Hasanat

1. 912837036 | Mohammed Zaal Mohammed Al-Hasanat — 64, Male

2. 910865336 | Aisha Jabr Salem Al-Hasanat — 73, Female

3. 960223030 | Tamam Jabr Mohammed Al-Hasanat — 78, Female

Shalan

1. 921169520 | Fatima Hussein Mohammed Shalan — 92, Female

Unknown

Hasanat

1. N/A | Malik Jibril al-Hasanat — Age unknown, Male

2. N/A | Salim Jibril al-Hasanat — Child, Male

3. N/A | Ward Atafi al-Hasanat — Age unknown, Female

Annex II: Evidence Index and Submission Notes

• Photographs and videos: Unedited files with original metadata, including family photographs and images of the deceased and of destroyed homes and clinics.

• Witness testimonies: Coded witness statements from family members, medical personnel, community organizers, and journalists.

• Open-source materials: Public reports and broadcasts documenting assaults, detentions, demolitions, repression of protests, and interference with medical and humanitarian aid.

• Medical and burial records: Where obtainable, certificates, hospital logs, and burial documentation.

• Tribal records: Genealogical and communal records establishing identity, lineage, and indigenous status tied to the Gerar region including Khirbet Umm Jarrar and Khirbet Abu Mu’ailiq.

Table A: Chronology of PA actions in Jenin and West Bank (Oct 2024–Jan 2025)

This report is published in good faith and based on the best available evidence. Where independent corroboration is limited, we identify the gaps and specify the investigative steps needed. Testimony, documents, and original files with metadata are held and can be provided to competent international bodies under protective conditions.

XI. Concluding remarks

The pattern of conduct by Mahmoud Abbas and his PA security apparatus from October 7, 2023, to August 2025 reveals a systematic approach that prioritizes the regime’s hold on power and its agreements with the State of Israel, at the expense of the rights and lives of Palestinian civilians. This has manifested in acts meeting the legal definitions of war crimes (e.g. collective punishment, willful killing, facilitating attacks on civilians), crimes against humanity (widespread persecution, torture, imprisonment, and other inhumane acts against a civilian population), and potential complicity in genocide (through aiding the perpetration of acts intended to destroy part of the Palestinian people). The victims span the breadth of the Palestinian population: from besieged families in Gaza, to protesters and political prisoners in the West Bank, to Bedouin villagers in the Naqab. The responsible individuals include Abbas himself as the commander-in-chief of PA forces, and his inner circle who executed policies and orders resulting in these grave violations. All of the above factual allegations would be supported by further evidence in media reports, NGO investigations, and witness testimonies (to be appended with full citations), providing a compelling basis for a formal submission to the International Criminal Court. The clarity of individual culpability, tying specific officials and commanders to specific criminal acts, strengthens the case that these were not isolated incidents but part of an official pattern of collaboration and abuse that demands legal accountability.

The Tribe of Abimelech Platform submits this report not out of political rivalry but from an urgent need to protect indigenous Bedouin and refugee communities from extinction. Mahatma Gandhi observed that “non‑cooperation with evil is as much a duty as co‑operation with good.” We believe the ICC has a duty to investigate those who, through action or omission, have facilitated the destruction of our people. We stand ready to provide additional testimony and documentation.

XII. Declaration

I declare that the information contained in this report is submitted in good faith. Where independent corroboration is limited, this report identifies the gaps and requests specific investigative steps by international investigators, prosecutors, or human rights monitors. The Tribe of Abimelech Platform stands ready to provide additional testimony, documents, and original digital files with metadata.

Bajis Hasanat Abu Mu’ailiq
25 August 2025

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