Furious George Clooney called the White House to criticise President Biden for dismissing his wife Amal Clooney’s request to issue an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as “outrageous”.
Amal Clooney, a renowned international human rights lawyer, was one of six legal experts advising the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) on their decision to seek Netanyahu’s arrest for alleged war crimes.
The prosecutor accused Netanyahu of using “starvation as a method of warfare” against civilians in Gaza. Amal Clooney stated she would “never accept that any conflict should be beyond the reach of the law, nor that any perpetrator should be above the law”.
However, Biden said there was “no moral equivalence” between Israel and Hamas and hinted at sanctions against the ICC. This upset George Clooney, who is one of Biden’s biggest political donors and supporters.
Clooney reportedly vented his frustration in a phone call to Biden’s senior advisor Steve Ricchetti. As a high-profile human rights activist and her husband’s staunch support, Amal Clooney remains unwavering in her view that all alleged war criminals should face legal scrutiny.
The controversy has now cast doubt on whether Clooney will participate in an upcoming fundraiser for Biden’s re-election campaign. Clooney is a star attraction and has helped raise millions for Biden in the past.
This public disagreement between Clooney and the White House is a sign of tensions around the ICC’s move and how far international law can be extended over sensitive geopolitical issues involving the US and its allies like Israel. It remains to be seen if Clooney continues supporting Biden’s presidency going forward.
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