The White House sharply criticized the International Criminal Court for issuing arrest warrants against Israeli Benjamin Netanyahu and Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar for alleged war crimes.
It comes as DailyMail.com reported that Amal Clooney played a key role in the ICC’s move against Netanyahu.
Clooney, a renowned human rights lawyer, was named one of six legal experts who helped British prosecutor Karim Khan make the decision, announced today, to seek injunctions for Netanyahu, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, as well as for three Hamas leaders.
She added in a statement on her foundation’s website: ‘As a human rights lawyer, I will never accept that one child’s life has less value than another. I do not accept that any conflict should be beyond the reach of the law, nor that any perpetrator should be above the law.’
But on Monday, President Joe Biden described the move as “outrageous” and said there is “no equivalence” between Israel and Hamas.
The White House sharply criticized the International Criminal Court for issuing arrest warrants for Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu after Amal Clooney was found to have played a crucial role in the move.
‘There is no equivalence – none – between Israel and Hamas. We will always stand with Israel against threats to its security,’ said President Joe Biden.
Clooney, a renowned human rights lawyer married to George Clooney, was named as one of six legal experts who helped British prosecutor Karim Khan make the decision.
‘The ICC prosecutor’s request for arrest warrants against Israeli leaders is scandalous. And let me be clear: regardless of what this prosecutor may imply, there is no equivalence – none – between Israel and Hamas. “We will always stand with Israel against threats to its security,” the Democrat said in a statement.
There was more criticism of the ICC from the White House, as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken also denounced the ICC’s action as “shameful” on Monday, rejecting the court’s authority and saying the move put ceasefire efforts at risk.
‘We reject the equivalence that the Israeli prosecutor makes with Hamas. “It’s shameful,” Blinken said in a statement.
Clooney, married to Hollywood legend George Clooney, revealed that she had been asked four months ago to help Khan assess evidence of alleged war crimes in Gaza and Israel.
Clooney revealed that he had been asked to help Khan evaluate evidence of alleged war crimes in Gaza and Israel four months ago.
The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court said today that he is seeking arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (pictured) and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, as well as three Hamas leaders.
He had faced months of backlash from both his critics and supporters for not speaking out about the deadly war in Gaza that has so far killed more than 35,000 Palestinians, at least half of them women and children, according to the group’s latest estimates. controlled by Hamas. Gaza health officials.
In an interview on Monday, Khan said the warrants are for war crimes and crimes against humanity for the terrorist group Hamas’ deadly Oct. 7 attack on Israel and Israel’s subsequent war in the Gaza Strip.
He said warrants were being sought for Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, Mohammed Diab Ibrahim al-Masri (alias Mohammed Deif), leader of the Al Qassem Brigades, Hamas’ military wing, and Ismail Haniyeh, Hamas’s political leader.
Khan told CNN that charges against the trio include “extermination, murder, hostage-taking, rape and sexual assault in detention.”
Khan said arrest warrants were being sought for three Hamas leaders, including Yahya Sinwar (pictured, file photo).
The ICC is also seeking arrest warrants for Mohammed Diab Ibrahim al-Masri (aka Mohammed Deif, pictured left), leader of the Al Qassem Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, and Ismail Haniyeh, Hamas’ political leader with based in Qatar.
Speaking of Israel’s actions, Khan said in a statement that ‘the effects of using starvation as a method of warfare, along with other attacks and collective punishments against Gaza’s civilian population, are acute, visible and widely known.’
“They include malnutrition, dehydration, profound suffering and an increasing number of deaths among the Palestinian population, including babies, other children and women,” he added.
Meanwhile, Israel lashed out at the ICC over arrest warrants for its two officials.
An Israeli official criticized the ICC move as a “baseless blood libel” against the country, while President Isaac Herzog called the move “scandalous” and said “no one can accept it.”
In an interview on Monday, Karim Khan (pictured in April) said the warrants are for war crimes and crimes against humanity for the terrorist group’s deadly attack on October 7 and Israel’s subsequent war in the Strip. Loop.
“The ICC prosecutor’s baseless blood libel against Israel has crossed a red line in his efforts to fight the only Jewish state and the only democracy in the Middle East,” the official said, according to the Financial Times.
“The blood libel will not deter Israel from defending itself and achieving all its just war goals” in Gaza, the official added.
Hamas also responded to the news.
“Hamas strongly denounces the attempts by the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court to equate the victim with the executioner by issuing arrest warrants against several leaders of the Palestinian resistance,” the terrorist group said.
‘Hamas… demands the cancellation of all arrest warrants issued against Palestinian resistance leaders for violating UN conventions and resolutions.’