A request by an International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor to issue arrest warrants for both the Hamas leader and the Israeli prime minister for war crimes has sparked strong reactions, anger and questions in the US and Israel.
CNN revealed the ICC prosecutor’s request yesterday afternoon, prompting reactions from the US and Israel.
U.S. President Joe Biden called the prosecutor’s request “outrageous,” noting that there is no equation between Israel and Hamas and reiterating that the U.S. stands firmly on Israel’s side.
“The ICC prosecutor’s request to issue arrest warrants against Israeli leaders is outrageous. And let me be clear: Whatever this prosecutor implies, there is no equation between Israel and Hamas. We will always stand by Israel, even when Israel’s security is threatened,” the US president said in a statement.
He also insisted that Israel’s large-scale military operations in the Gaza Strip since October were “not genocide”. “What is happening is not genocide and we reject it,” he said.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also expressed his anger. “I reject with disgust the prosecutor’s comparison in The Hague between democratic Israel and the butchers of Hamas. How dare you compare Hamas – who have murdered, burned, butchered, beheaded, raped and kidnapped our brothers and sisters – to IDF soldiers fighting a just war… “.
Israel’s Foreign Ministry described the prosecutor’s proposal as scandalous, arguing it amounted to an attack on the victims of October 7, while calling the decision a “crime of historic proportions.” The country’s finance ministry considers the proposal a “display of hypocrisy and hatred against Jews,” reminiscent of Nazi propaganda.
Biden: Decision on Netanyahu’s Arrest Warrant Is Outrageous – No Equation Between Israel and Hamas
Amal Alamuddin’s role in the case series
Amal Clooney played a key role in the International Criminal Court ruling on arrest warrants for alleged war crimes against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Hamas leader Yahya Shinwar.
Clooney, a well-known human rights lawyer, was named as one of six legal experts assisting British lawyer Karim Khan – who announced yesterday the decision to seek arrest warrants for Netanyahu, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallat and three Hamas leaders. .
Clooney revealed that four months ago he was asked to help Khan assess evidence of alleged war crimes in Gaza and Israel.
A report on Amal Clooney’s involvement in the case
Amal Clooney said in a statement on her foundation’s website:
“Four months ago the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court asked me to help assess the evidence of alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in Israel and Gaza. I agreed and joined a group of international legal experts to carry out this project. In the context of the International Criminal Court in The Hague, we worked together on an extensive process of examining evidence and legal analysis… Although each of us (on the team) has different backgrounds, our legal conclusions are unanimous. We unanimously concluded that the Court has jurisdiction over crimes committed in Palestine and by Palestinian nationals. We unanimously concluded that there was reasonable evidence that the leaders of Hamas, Yahya Shinwar, Mohammed Daif, and Ismail Haniyeh, were involved in war crimes and crimes against humanity, including kidnapping, murder, and crimes of sexual violence. We unanimously concluded that there are reasonable indications that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Kallat have committed war crimes and crimes against humanity.
At the same time he added: “As a human rights lawyer, I will never accept that the life of one child is worth less than the life of another.” I do not agree that any conflict should be beyond the bounds of the law and that any criminal should be above the law.
He apologizes to those who criticized him
The news comes after months of criticism and backlash against Amal Clooney for not speaking out about the war in Gaza, which has so far killed more than 35,000 Palestinians, half of them women and children.
Many of his former critics have now taken to social media to apologize for their harsh comments about the well-known human rights lawyer.
Specifically, one wrote on Twitter: “I take back my criticism of Amal Clooney for not speaking publicly about Gaza. She couldn’t do that because she was involved in the proceedings.” Also, another user of the popular site noted: “Amal Clooney has been quietly working on ICC proceedings to bring Israel to the Hague for war crimes, while criticizing Gaza online for not writing about it. Sorry to challenge you, Queen!’