Amal Clooney may be at risk of US sanctions following her involvement in a panel that recommended war crimes charges against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, according to reports.
The high-profile British human rights lawyer, wife of Hollywood star George Clooney, sat on the expert legal panel that advised International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor Karim Khan on evidence from the Gaza conflict.
Last year, Clooney publicly confirmed the panel’s unanimous recommendation for charges against both Netanyahu and then-defence minister Yoav Gallant.
In her statement, she declared there were “reasonable grounds to believe” that the two men had committed war crimes and crimes against humanity, including “starvation as a method of warfare, murder, persecution and extermination”.
Writing on the Clooney Foundation for Justice website, she said: “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.
“I served on this panel because I believe in the rule of law and the need to protect civilian lives.
“The law that protects civilians in war was developed more than 100 years ago and it applies in every country in the world regardless of the reasons for a conflict.”
The Financial Times reports that UK legal figures involved in the ICC’s decision, including Baroness Helena Kennedy and Lord Justice Adrian Fulford, have been warned by the UK Foreign Office they could be banned from entering the United States.
It is not clear whether Clooney herself has received a similar warning.
In February, Donald Trump imposed sanctions on ICC prosecutor Karim Khan via executive order, accusing him of targeting the U.S. and its allies, specifically Israel.
The order included a ban on Khan and his family entering the US and froze any American-held assets.
It also set a 60-day deadline, ending April 7, for officials to recommend further individuals for sanction. So far, no additional names have been publicly confirmed.
The executive order states that “tangible and significant consequences” would follow for anyone involved in what Trump described as the ICC’s “illegitimate and baseless actions”.
Clooney and her husband currently live in New York while George Clooney stars in the Broadway production Good Night, and Good Luck.
The couple also own homes in France, London, and Italy.
George Clooney, a vocal supporter of the Democratic Party, has been publicly critical of Trump.
In a March appearance on 60 Minutes, he condemned the former president’s attacks on the media. Trump fired back on Truth Social, branding Clooney a “second-rate movie star” and “failed political pundit”.
“He fought hard for Sleepy Joe’s election and then, right after the debate, dumped him like a dog,” Trump wrote.
“Later, I assume under orders from the Obama camp, pushed all out for ‘Kamala [Harris]’, only to soon realise that that was not going to work out too well.”
The Standard has contacted Amal Clooney via her chambers for comment.
