Amal Clooney was in an eight-person panel appointed by the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) prosecutor that reviewed arrest warrants for senior Israeli and Hamas leaders.
The British Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office has warned senior British lawyers that they could face sanctions from the Trump administration after serving as consultants in the ICC’s case against Israel for its offensive on Gaza.
In January 2024, ICC prosecutor, Kharim Khan, convened a panel of legal and academic experts to review his investigation into the alleged crimes committed during the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict.
The panel’s objective was to determine whether the individuals named in the arrest warrant applications had committed crimes within the ICC’s jurisdiction, including war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide.
Clooney, a prominent British barrister who specializes in international law and human rights, was among the experts who advised Khan. She also serves as an adjunct professor at Columbia Law School in New York City.
Clooney is the co-founder of a non-profit—Clooney Foundation for Justice—that provides free legal support for human rights abuse victims. She has previously appeared before the ICC and the International Court of Justice where she represented victims of large-scale violenc
In the panel, she was joined by Danny Friedman, a barrister at Matrix Chambers; Baroness Helena Kennedy of the Shaws, a Labor peer; former British judge, Lord Justice Adrian Fulford; Judge Theodor Meron CMG, and Elizabeth Wilmshurst CMG KC.
In his investigation, Khan named five senior Israel and Hamas leaders: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Former Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant, and Hamas leaders Yahya Sinwar, Mohammed Deif and Ismail Haniyeh.
Following months of “an extensive process of review and analysis,” Clooney and her fellow panel members published a legal report and joint statement via the Financial Times on May 20, 2024, explaining why they “support the ICC’s prosecution for crimes in Israel and Gaza.”
It was in this statement that they announced the panel unanimously agreed that the evidence collected by Khan was sufficient to charge those leading the conflict.
“The judges of the ICC will ultimately determine which warrants, if any, should be issued. And as investigations continue, we hope that state authorities, witnesses and survivors will engage with the judicial process,” they said.
In November 2024, the ICC did issue arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity. Although charges were also issued against the three Hamas leaders, they have since died.
In February of this year, President Donald Trump signed an executive order issuing sanctions—which include blocking property and assets and the suspension of entry into the U.S.—against Khan for his involvement in the ICC’s case against Israel.
The president also warned that further measures could be taken against others who contributed to the case, giving a 60-day deadline for internal recommendations of such individuals. The deadline was April 7.
Upon hearing reports that Clooney might be denied entry into the U.S. with looming sanctions from the Trump administration, many took to social media to express their frustration.
“‘Even Disgraceful Says It’s Disgraceful!'” one person wrote. “This is infuriating!!” another exclaimed. “She would be heartbroken,” a fan sympathized. “Isn’t she married to an American citizen?” someone else noted.
The lawyer is, in fact, married to actor George Clooney. She had previously received criticism on social media for not speaking publicly about the conflict and for its victims.
Following her joint statement with her panel, she released a personal address of her own. “I served on this Panel because I believe in the rule of law and the need to protect civilian lives,” she wrote on the Clooney Foundation website.
Clooney emphasized that the laws protecting civilians in war have developed for more than a century, and apply to all countries, regardless of the reasons for the conflict. As a human rights lawyer, she does not accept that one child’s life has more—or less—value than another’s.
The mother of two said she does not accept that any conflict should be “beyond the reach of the law,” nor should any perpetrator be above it.
Since the arrest warrants have been issued, both Netanyahu and Gallant have dismissed the charges as “false and absurd lies.” It should also be noted that Israel, along with the US, is not among the countries that signed the international treaty that created the ICC, and, therefore, does not accept the court’s jurisdiction.
