Wife of actor George Clooney could be banned from the US for role in Netanyahu arrest warrant

Amal Clooney, the British attorney who helped lay the groundwork for the ICC’s arrest warrant against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, could be banned from entering the US according to new report.

By World Israel News Staff

The wife of Academy Award-winning actor George Clooney could find herself unable to travel with her husband to the United States, due to her role in preparing international arrest warrants against two Israeli leaders, the Financial Times has reported.

According to a report last week, the UK’s Foreign Office has advised several British attorneys involved in preparing the International Criminal Court’s case against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant that they could soon face sanctions from the Trump administration.

Among those notified was Amal Clooney, a British human rights lawyer and wife of the A-list Hollywood actor George Clooney, who helped the ICC build its war crime case against Netanyahu and Gallant, which culminated in chief prosecutor Karim Khan’s arrest warrants against the two Israeli leaders late last year.

President Donald Trump has already sanctioned Khan – a British national –  and other ICC officials with an executive order issued in February. While the February order applies to a number of ICC officials involved in the arrest warrants, only Khan was listed by name.

Now, however, according to the Times, the Trump administration is likely to issue additional sanctions targeting others involved in the arrest warrants, including British attorneys.

Born in Beirut in 1978, the 47-year-old Amal was raised in the UK, moving there with her family at the age of two to escape the Lebanese civil war.

A practicing attorney in both Britain and the U.S., Mrs. Clooney jointly owns property in the U.S. with her husband.

The couple and their twin seven-year-old daughters reside primarily in Los Angeles, with additional properties in Manhattan and Europe.

Clooney’s involvement in the ICC case against Netanyahu and Gallant began last year after the court asked her to join a panel of international legal experts to evaluate the possibility of pursuing war crimes charges.

Along with the other panel members, Clooney assessed the evidence collected by the ICC. The panel later voted unanimously to back ICC prosecution in the case, arguing that the court had jurisdiction in the matter, recommending that the Israeli leaders, along with senior Hamas officials, be indicted.