Amal Clooney advised ICC on arrest warrants for Israeli officials, Hamas leaders

Human rights lawyer Amal Clooney said on Monday that she had helped advise the International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor on arrest warrants for three Hamas leaders, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the defense minister.

Clooney was among a panel of legal experts assembled by ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan to assess the evidence behind the arrest warrant request, according to a statement posted on the Clooney Justice Foundation’s website. .

The requested arrest warrant is for Yahya Sinwar, leader of the Hamas movement in the Gaza Strip. Ismail Haniyeh, Hamas’s top political leader. and Mohamed Diab Ibrahim al-Masri, commander of Hamas’s military wing. Khan said it all.be held criminally liableFor war crimes against Israel, including sexual violence, kidnapping, and extermination.

Clooney, the wife of actor George Clooney, said the panel was unanimous in its legal judgment that there were “reasonable grounds” to prosecute the people named in the search warrant.

“We have unanimously decided that the court has jurisdiction over crimes committed by Palestine and its people,” Clooney said.

“I served on this panel because I believe in the rule of law and the need to protect civilian lives,” she later added. “Laws protecting civilians in times of war were established over 100 years ago and apply to all countries around the world, regardless of the reason for the conflict.”

Clooney has represented hundreds of victims of mass aggression; faced criticism Local health officials say a lack of voices being raised in recent months against Israel’s wartime actions in the Gaza Strip has resulted in more than 35,000 deaths since the beginning of October.

Other members of the Legal Affairs Committee included legal expert Theodor Meron, former president of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. Judge Adrian Fulford, former ICC judge. and Baroness Helena Kennedy, Labor Party member of the House of Lords.

A three-judge panel will now decide whether to issue a warrant and proceed with the case. This process may take several weeks.

Khan’s request drew harsh criticism from Hamas leaders, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and Israeli officials, calling it an “outrageous decision.”

President Biden also criticized Khan’s “outrageous” demands.

“It is outrageous that ICC prosecutors have applied for arrest warrants against Israeli leaders,” Biden said in a statement. “And let me be clear: no matter what this prosecutor says, there is no equivalence between Israel and Hamas. We will always support Israel and support its security. We will stand up to the threat.”