Prominent human rights lawyer Amal Clooney has published an expert report supporting the International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor's request for arrest warrants related to alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, all but ignoring the fact that Israel was defending itself against terrorism. The International Criminal Court's chief prosecutor, Karim Khan, revealed Monday that the court was pursuing arrest warrants for top leaders from both Hamas and Israel. The statement, made initially on CNN, was later confirmed in an official statement.
Clooney headed a panel of international legal experts tasked by the ICC prosecutor with evaluating evidence from the region over the past four months. In a statement, Clooney said the panel found Hamas leaders Yahya Sinwar, Mohammed Deif, and Ismail Haniyeh committed "war crimes and crimes against humanity, including hostage-taking, murder and crimes of sexual violence." On the Israeli side, the panel determined there were reasonable grounds that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant have carried out "war crimes and crimes against humanity including starvation as a method of warfare, murder, persecution and extermination."
The panel, comprising former international tribunal judges and ICC special advisers, unanimously agreed the Court has jurisdiction over crimes committed in the Palestinian territories and by Palestinian nationals.
The applications for arrest warrants – set to be heard before a panel of judges who will have to decide on whether they get issued – are against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, as well as two other prominent Hamas figures – Mohammed Deif, leader of the Al-Qassem Brigades, and Ismail Haniyeh, the political leader of Hamas. This decision marks the first time the ICC has targeted a national leader of a close US ally, placing Netanyahu in a similar position to Russian President Vladimir Putin, who faces an ICC arrest warrant over the Ukraine war. The ICC judges will now review Khan's applications for these arrest warrants.
World exclusive: The International Criminal Court is seeking arrest warrants for Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and others on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity over the October 7 attacks on Israel and the subsequent war in…
— Christiane Amanpour (@amanpour) May 20, 2024
According to Khan, the charges against the Hamas leaders include "extermination, murder, taking of hostages, rape and sexual assault in detention."
"I served on this Panel because I believe in the rule of law and the need to protect civilian lives," Clooney 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." Clooney called the ICC Prosecutor's pursuit of accountability in the decades-long Israeli-Palestinian conflict "a historic step" and expressed hope "that witnesses will cooperate with the ongoing investigation" and "that justice will prevail in a region that has already suffered too much."
Although not elaborating why Israel should be treated the same way as Hamas – a terrorist organization – she noted that "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. Together we have engaged in an extensive process of evidence review and legal analysis including at the International Criminal Court in The Hague."
Amal Clooney, wife of George Clooney, was one of the lawyers who advised the ICC on issuing an arrest warrant for Netanyahu pic.twitter.com/ejr6YuXtrn
— Visegrád 24 (@visegrad24) May 20, 2024
"Despite our diverse personal backgrounds, our legal findings are unanimous. We have unanimously determined that the Court has jurisdiction over crimes committed in Palestine and by Palestinian nationals. We unanimously conclude that there are reasonable grounds to believe that Hamas leaders Yahya Sinwar, Mohammed Deif and Ismail Haniyeh have committed war crimes and crimes against humanity, including hostage-taking, murder and crimes of sexual violence. We unanimously conclude that there are reasonable grounds to believe that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant have committed war crimes and crimes against humanity including starvation as a method of warfare, murder, persecution and extermination."
The detailed report from Clooney's expert panel was published today along with an op-ed outlining its conclusions. The filings increase pressure on the ICC to issue arrest warrants, which could further intensify longstanding tensions in the volatile region.
