Amal Clooney Admits to Advising ICC on Arrest Warrant for Netanyahu By Eric Lendrum
Left-wing activist Amal Clooney, wife of actor George Clooney, admitted on Monday to advising the International Criminal Court (ICC) when it came to the arrest warrant that was issued for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, alongside several other high-profile warrants.
According to The Hill, Clooney was one of several activists who was assembled onto a panel by ICC prosecutor Karim Khan to discuss his requests for the arrest warrants for Netanyahu, Netanyahu’s defense ministers, and three Hamas leaders. Clooney detailed her involvement in a statement posted to her Clooney Foundation for Justice website.
Clooney said that the panel came to a unanimous decision that there were “reasonable grounds” to announce the warrants for Netanyahu and the rest.
“We have unanimously determined that the Court has jurisdiction over crimes committed in Palestine and by Palestinian nationals,” said Clooney. “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.”
Other members of the panel include: Theodor Meron, former president of the International Criminal Tribunal for Yugoslavia; Adrian Fulford, a former ICC judge; and Helena Kennedy, a member of the House of Lords with the Labor Party.
In addition to Netanyahu, arrest warrants were issued for three leaders of the Islamic terrorist group Hamas: Ismail Haniyeh, the group’s main political leader; Yahya Sinwar, the leader of Hamas in Gaza; and Mohammed Diab Ibrahim Al-Masri, the commander of Hamas’ military wing.
Following the announcement of the warrants, a three-judge panel will convene to determine if a case against those named in the warrants will be allowed to proceed. It could be several weeks before the panel comes to a decision.
The warrants drew widespread ridicule and condemnation, with Netanyahu denouncing it as an “outrageous decision.” Even Joe Biden, who has been increasingly critical of Israel and Netanyahu, released a statement also calling the warrants “outrageous.”
“The ICC prosecutor’s application for arrest warrants against Israeli leaders is outrageous,” said Biden’s statement. “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.”
Comments are closed.
