Amal Clooney visa at risk over ICC’s Netanyahu arrest recommendation
Amal Clooney, a prominent human rights lawyer and wife of actor George clooney, faces potential barring from entering the United States due to her involvement in recommending an international arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. This suggestion was part of her role wiht the International Criminal Court (ICC), where she advised the court that Netanyahu had committed war crimes during the ongoing conflict in Gaza. The British Foreign Office has alerted Clooney of possible sanctions from the Trump administration, which has historically criticized the ICC and its investigations concerning Israel.
The warrant, issued by the ICC in late 2024, reportedly cited Netanyahu’s actions in Gaza, including allegations of using starvation as a tactic of war. The Biden administration has previously stated that it does not recognize the ICC’s jurisdiction over the Gaza conflict, and during Trump’s presidency, he imposed sanctions against the court’s prosecutor, asserting that the ICC’s actions unjustly targeted the united States and Israel. Amal Clooney, despite being a British citizen, may still be affected by these sanctions as she currently resides in New York City.This advancement adds to the ongoing tension between the Clooneys and Trump, especially following George Clooney’s criticisms of Trump’s presidency.
Amal Clooney visa at risk over ICC’s Netanyahu arrest recommendation: Report
The wife of celebrity George Clooney could reportedly be barred from entering the United States because she recommended arresting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in her capacity as legal counsel to the International Criminal Court.
Amal Clooney, a British citizen, was one of several senior legal counsels to the ICC who advised the court to issue an international arrest warrant for Netanyahu. The recommendation was made on the basis that the Israeli leader had committed war crimes in Gaza, including using starvation as a method of warfare, during his country’s fight against Hamas terrorists.
Amal has now been warned by Britain’s Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office that they are at risk of sanctions by the Trump administration, according to a Financial Times report. The alleged sanctions follow the United States’s long history of criticizing the court, of which it is not a part.
The Washington Examiner reached out to the White House for comment but did not receive a response.
The news comes after Amal Clooney sat on a panel that recommended lead ICC prosecutor Karim Khan issue an arrest warrant for Netanyahu and former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. The ICC issued the warrant in November 2024, leading Israel to condemn “the broken & immoral international system, which encourages terrorists and radical regimes, while tying the hands of democracies seeking to defend themselves.”
At the time, the Biden administration operated under the policy that the ICC did not have jurisdiction over the war in Gaza. Then-President Joe Biden issued a strong statement condemning the court for its “outrageous” decision and implying there was “equivalence” between Israel and Hamas.
A host of countries belonging to the ICC have declined to follow through with the directive to arrest a sitting world leader.
After President Donald Trump came to power in January, he banned Khan, the ICC prosecutor, from entering the U.S. through an executive order issuing the sanctions.
The court had “engaged in illegitimate and baseless actions targeting America and our close ally Israel” after saying the Israeli leaders should answer charges that included “murder, persecution, and other inhumane acts,” Trump said.
His alleged move against Amal Clooney comes after she posted on the Clooney Foundation for Justice website that she served on the ICC panel “because I believe in the rule of law and the need to protect civilian lives.”
“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,” she wrote, per the Telegraph.
While Amal Clooney is a British citizen, a ban from the U.S. would still affect her as she is temporarily living with her husband in New York City for a work project.
Trump and George Clooney have exchanged frequent barbs in recent months, particularly over the actor’s move to issue a warning to the public last year that Biden was not mentally fit to serve a second term.
Trump accused George Clooney, a longtime Biden fan, of turning on the then-president like a “rat.”
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The actor has largely brushed off Trump’s comments.
“I don’t care,” George Clooney said during a CBS interview earlier this month. “I’ve known Donald Trump for a long time. My job is not to please the president of the United States. My job is to try to tell the truth when I can and when I have the opportunity.”
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