Amal Clooney Advocates for Arrest Warrants in War Crimes Case Involving Israel and Hamas

The Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) has simultaneously requested arrest warrants for Israeli and Hamas leaders on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity. Amal Clooney, wife of actor George Clooney, was among the lawyers who recommended the request for the warrants, as reported by the Associated Press on the 20th (local time).

Amal Clooney, a human rights lawyer, posted on the website of the Clooney Foundation for Justice run by the Clooney couple that she was involved in this arrest warrant request. She said that she and other international law experts unanimously agreed to recommend the request for an arrest warrant to ICC Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan.

Chief Prosecutor Khan declared the warrant request, stating that the actions of Israeli and Hamas leaders during the seven-month-long Gaza war constitute war crimes.

Amal Clooney said, “I participated in this panel due to the need to protect civilian lives and belief in the rule of law,” adding, “The law protecting civilians in war has evolved over the past 100 years and should apply to all countries worldwide, regardless of the cause of the war.”

She said the panel consists of international criminal law and international human rights law experts, two of whom were judges at the international war crimes tribunal at Hague. The unanimously agreed recommendations were also published in the Financial Times that day.

A panel of three ICC judges will decide whether to issue the arrest warrants, a process that typically takes about two months.

Chief Prosecutor Khan criticized Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and three Hamas leaders for committing war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Not only Prime Minister Netanyahu and Israeli leaders but also U.S. President Joe Biden, strongly criticized Chief Prosecutor Khan in response. Since Israel is not a member of the ICC, even if an arrest warrant is issued, Prime Minister Netanyahu is not at risk of prosecution, but he may have difficulty traveling abroad.