Human rights attorney Amal Clooney was part of the expert panel that advised the International Criminal Court (ICC) to seek arrest warrants for Israeli and Hamas leaders over alleged war crimes.
The panel of experts was convened by ICC prosecutor Karim Khan to assist with the evidence review and legal analysis concerning the arrest warrant applications.
“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.
The requested arrest warrants target Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and three Hamas leaders, namely Yahya Sinwar, Mohammed Deif, and Ismail Haniyeh.
Ms. Clooney said the panel’s findings were unanimous in determining that the ICC has jurisdiction over “crimes committed in Palestine and by Palestinian nationals” despite the experts having “diverse personal backgrounds.”
The panel concluded there are “reasonable grounds” to believe the three Hamas leaders committed war crimes and crimes against humanity, including hostage-taking, murder, and crimes of sexual violence, according to Ms. Clooney.
She noted that the panel also found reasonable reasons to believe that Mr. Netanyahu and Mr. Gallant “committed war crimes and crimes against humanity including starvation as a method of warfare, murder, persecution and extermination.”
Ms. Clooney, who had been vocal about Russia’s war crimes in Ukraine, had previously received backlash on social media for failing to speak up against the atrocities committed in the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.
“I served on this panel because I believe in the rule of law and the need to protect civilian lives,” the British barrister stated.
“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 added.
Israel, US Condemn ICC Arrest Warrants
Mr. Netanyahu has condemned the prosecutor’s decision to seek arrest warrants against him and Mr. Gallant, saying that it “creates a twisted and false moral equivalence between the leaders of Israel and the henchmen of Hamas.”The Israeli leader stated that Mr. Khan’s move would “set a dangerous precedent that undermines every democracy’s right to defend itself against terror organizations and aggressors.”
“And I assure you of one thing: This attempt will utterly fail,” he added.
Israel is not a member of the ICC, and even if the arrest warrants are issued, Mr. Netanyahu and Mr. Gallant do not face an immediate risk of prosecution. However, Mr. Khan’s decision could further isolate Israel from the international community as it presses ahead with its war, and the threat of arrest could dissuade the Israeli leaders from traveling abroad.
President Joe Biden has also condemned Mr. Khan’s arrest warrant applications and reaffirmed Washington’s commitment to Israel’s security.
“And let me be clear: whatever this prosecutor might imply, there is no equivalence, none, between Israel and Hamas. We will always stand with Israel against threats to its security,” President Biden said.
Hamas, which is designated as a terrorist organization by Israel and the United States, has also condemned Mr. Khan’s arrest applications.
The Hamas leadership stated that the ICC should have acted against the Israeli leaders sooner for their role in the deaths of thousands of Palestinian civilians, as well as medical workers and journalists.
