On 25 May, International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor Karim Khan filed requests for arrest warrants against Hamas leaders Yahya Sinwar, Mohammed Deif, and Ismail Haniyeh, as well as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, accusing them of war crimes and crimes against humanity. The next step is for the ICC's Pre-Trial Chamber I to review the applications and determine if there are ‘reasonable grounds to believe’ that these individuals have committed a crime under the Court's jurisdiction, and whether to issue the arrest warrants. A report by international law experts, convened by the ICC Prosecutor in January 2024, confirmed on 20 May that the gathered evidence was sufficient to meet the criteria for applying for the arrest warrants. PM Netanyahu called the ICC Prosecutor’s announcement ‘absurd’. Israel previously stated that it does not recognize the Court's authority and will not cooperate with the inquiry. Meanwhile, Hamas has called on the ICC to withdraw the arrest warrant requests for its leaders.

Sources: International Criminal Court, ICC Panel of Experts in International Law (1), ICC Panel of Experts in International Law (2), Diakonia, Middle East Eye, ABC, Associated Press

On 28 March, Palestinian President and chairman of Fatah, Mahmoud Abbas, announced the formation of the new Palestinian Authority (PA) government in a presidential decree. The PA exercises civil control over parts of the West Bank but not Gaza. These appointments followed the dissolution of the previous government in late February, after former Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh and his cabinet resigned amid growing political infighting and strained relationships with international actors. In the decree, Abbas appointed as the new Prime Minister his longtime adviser Mohammad Mustafa, who a decade ago led the reconstruction in Gaza after a previous Israel-Hamas war. This appointment, and the inclusion in the government of five ministers from Gaza, is notable at a time when the PA is aiming to extend its governance to Gaza after the ongoing war. Abbas’s reappointment of ministers from the previous governments, however suggests a degree of continuity. Resigning ministers were reappointed to other positions within PA bodies, with former PM Shtayyeh taking on a new role as Director of the National Research Centre. Only four women were appointed to the 23-members Cabinet. Elections were last held in Gaza and the West Bank in 2006.   

Sources: International IDEA, Reuters, WAFA, Quds Press, PRC

On 26 March, the UN’s Special Rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories, Francesca Albanese, presented a report to the UN Human Rights Council, which concluded that there are reasonable grounds to believe that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza. Referring to the Genocide Convention, Ms Albanese explained that ‘Israel has committed three acts of genocide with the requisite intent [to destroy Palestinians as a group]:  causing seriously [sic] serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group, deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part, and imposing measures intended to prevent birth [sic] within the group.’ Israel rejected the report, calling it ‘an obscene inversion of reality.’ Separately, on 28 March, in response to a further deterioration of living conditions in Gaza (it observed that ‘famine is setting in’), the UN’s International Court of Justice ordered Israel to implement new humanitarian measures, as part of a case in which it is considering whether the country has violated the Genocide Convention.

Sources: United Nations (1), United Nations (2), International Court of Justice

In late February, Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh and his cabinet tendered their resignations to President Mahmoud Abbas, indicating a shift towards the formation of a new technocratic government in the Palestinian territories amidst rising tensions in the West Bank and Gaza. This step was taken against a backdrop of political infighting, economic challenges, and strained relations with neighbouring states and international actors. The resignation could lead to potential restructuring or reforms within the Palestinian Authority and could also impact peace prospects in the region.

The new government is expected to focus on the reconstruction of Gaza following the conflict and to operate independently of political factions, including Hamas. The potential formation of this government also raises questions about future elections, given the long-standing division between Hamas in Gaza and Fatah (the political party of President Abbas) in the West Bank, and the pressing need to address immediate crises before considering new electoral processes.

Sources: Cable News Network, Al Jazeera, Deutsche Welle, National Public Radio, Time Magazine