Human rights lawyer Amal Clooney played a significant role in advising the International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor, Karim Khan, in his investigation that led to the request for arrest warrants for Israeli and Hamas leaders, including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar. Clooney, who is married to actor George Clooney, served as part of a panel of experts in international law that Khan turned to for advice and to review the evidence in the case.
In a statement released by her Clooney Foundation for Justice, Amal Clooney elaborated on her involvement in the ICC case, which has triggered arrest warrant requests for Netanyahu, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and Hamas leaders Sinwar, Ismail Haniyeh, and Mohammad Deif for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity. "More than four months ago, the prosecutor of the international criminal court asked me to assist him with evaluating evidence of suspected war crimes and crimes against humanity in Israel and Gaza. I agreed and joined a panel of international legal experts to undertake this task," she said.
The panel of experts, which included former judges at criminal tribunals at The Hague, engaged in an extensive process of evidence review and legal analysis. Despite their diverse personal backgrounds, the panel reached unanimous conclusions regarding the ICC's jurisdiction over crimes committed in Palestine and by Palestinian nationals, as well as the existence of reasonable grounds to believe that both Hamas and Israeli leaders have committed war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Clooney, who has faced criticism on social media for not speaking publicly about the war in Gaza, explained her decision to accept the court's invitation to advise on the case. "I served on this panel because I believe in the rule of law and the need to protect civilian lives. The law that protects civilians in war was developed more than 100 years ago and it applies in every country in the world regardless of the reasons for a conflict," she stated.
In an op-ed for the Financial Times, Clooney and other members of the advisory panel hailed Khan's decision to issue the arrest warrants as "a milestone in the history of international criminal law." They expressed hope that the prosecutor would continue to conduct focused investigations, including those related to the extensive harm suffered by civilians as a result of the bombing campaign in Gaza and evidence of sexual violence committed against Israelis on October 7.
The ICC's decision has drawn mixed reactions, with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu calling it the latest example of "what the new antisemitism looks like" and a "travesty of justice." He accused the ICC of targeting Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) soldiers who were fighting against "vile Hamas murderers who attacked us with terrible cruelty on Oct. 7."
Clooney's husband, actor George Clooney, is a well-known supporter of President Biden and is set to appear in social media posts and digital ads in support of the president. The Biden campaign has also enlisted actress Julia Roberts and former President Obama for a star-studded fundraiser in Los Angeles next month.
As a barrister at Doughty Street Chambers in London, Amal Clooney has worked on a string of high-profile cases relating to international law. Her involvement in the ICC case and her support for the court's decision to pursue arrest warrants for Israeli and Hamas leaders have brought her role in the investigation into the spotlight.
