International Criminal Court Seeks Arrest Warrants for Israeli and Hamas Leaders

The International Criminal Court, more than 200 days after the Gaza war, has requested arrest warrants for Prime Minister Netanyahu, Defense Minister Gallant, and three Hamas leaders. Prosecutor Karim Khan consulted with "a group of international law experts" of immense stature in international humanitarian law and international criminal law. Among them is also "Amal Clooney", the Anglo-Lebanese lawyer and wife of American actor George Clooney. The chief prosecutor said there are "reasonable grounds" to believe that three Hamas leaders, Yahya Sinwar, Mohammed Deif, and Ismail Haniyeh, and two Israeli leaders, Netanyahu and Gallant, are responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity. The report also states that the Hamas leaders are responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity, including extermination and murder. The Role of Lawyer Amal Clooney The Anglo-Lebanese lawyer Amal Clooney played a key role in the report requesting arrest warrants for senior Israeli and Hamas officials from the International Criminal Court, after months of silence on the Gaza war. On Monday, the Clooney Foundation for Justice issued a press release confirming that Clooney was part of a group of legal experts supporting the ICC's arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and three Hamas leaders for crimes in Israel and Palestine. The lawyer was part of a six-person legal committee, which, along with two academic experts, recommended the issuance of arrest warrants by the International Criminal Court against Netanyahu and Gallant for using hunger as a weapon of war, intentionally directing attacks against a civilian population, extermination and/or murder, among other potential war crimes. The actor's wife had to face months of criticism for her silence on the Gaza war, especially from supporters of Palestine. Who is She Clooney was born in Beirut in 1978, and two years later her family moved to the United Kingdom due to the Lebanese civil war. Since then, she has made a name for herself as one of the leading international legal experts, working on the case of the Yazidi genocide against the Islamic State group, working on behalf of Filipino journalist Maria Ressa in trouble, and on other human rights issues. In 2014, she married American actor George Clooney. She co-founded the Clooney Foundation for Justice with her husband George Clooney, to hold perpetrators of mass atrocities accountable for their crimes and empower victims. "We founded the Clooney Foundation for Justice because we believe in a world where human rights are protected and no one is above the law," reads the association's website.