Israel’s Foreign Ministry has condemned the decision to award Navi Pillay the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize, criticising her role as Chair of a United Nations commission that concluded Israel had committed genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.
In a statement posted on X, the ministry accused the award organisers of using the prize to promote hostility towards Israel, arguing that Pillay’s involvement in the commission’s findings undermined the recognition.
“Awarding Pillay the Nobel Peace Prize isn’t a recognition of justice. It’s the grotesque weaponization of an award to legitimize anti-Israel hatred and prejudice.”
Israel’s Foreign Ministry
The ministry further described the decision as a reward for what it called “the biggest lie of the 21st century,” reflecting Israel’s longstanding rejection of allegations that its military campaign in Gaza constitutes genocide.
Pillay chaired the UN commission whose 72-page report, published in September 2025, concluded that Israel had committed four genocidal acts in Gaza since October 7, 2023. The date marked the Hamas-led attack on communities near the Palestinian enclave, which prompted Israel to launch its devastating military campaign in Gaza.
According to the report, the alleged acts included killing Palestinians in Gaza, causing serious bodily or mental harm, deliberately inflicting living conditions calculated to bring about the physical destruction of Palestinians in whole or in part, and imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group.
The commission also accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other senior Israeli officials of incitement to genocide.
Israel has consistently and strongly rejected accusations of genocide, disputing the allegations surrounding its military operations in Gaza. The findings of the UN commission have therefore remained a point of contention between Israel and those who have accused it of violating international law.
The office of the Israeli Prime Minister noted in a post on X that the Nobel Prize committee “has lost its moral compass.” “It has awarded its highest honor to a bigot who built her career around inventing and propagating blood libels against the one and only Jewish state,” the office added.
Pillay Dedicates Nobel Peace Prize To Survivors Of International Crimes
Pillay, meanwhile, dedicated her Nobel Peace Prize to survivors of international crimes and individuals working to defend international criminal justice, “whose compassion and courage continue to ensure that impunity will not be allowed to reign.”
In her remarks, she paid tribute to those whose efforts seek to ensure accountability for serious violations of international law, praising their commitment to preventing impunity.
Speaking at the International Nuremberg Principle Academy, Pillay said that she was in Courtroom 600, the historic venue where the Nuremberg trials were held, when she learned she had received the award.
The 85-year-old jurist described the recognition as a “wonderful surprise” and “the highest and best honor” she had received.
Pillay Says International Law And Human Rights Under Significant Political Attack
Her acceptance remarks focused on the challenges facing international law and human rights, particularly what she described as growing political pressure on institutions responsible for upholding justice. “We are living through an era when international law and human rights are under significant political attack,” Pillay said, pointing specifically to attacks on the International Criminal Court.
She warned that efforts to undermine international legal institutions could threaten progress made since the Nuremberg trials, which established important precedents for prosecuting individuals responsible for serious international crimes.
Such efforts, she said, “endanger the progress painstakingly made since Nuremberg, and they risk returning us to a world in which power, rather than law, determines whose suffering matters.”
Pillay also stressed the importance of defending independent courts and the rule of law, arguing that the Nobel recognition strengthened her resolve to support international justice. “This award strengthens my conviction that we must stand together in defense of the rule of law in defense of independent courts,” she said.
The dispute over the award highlights the continuing divisions surrounding international accountability for the war in Gaza. While Pillay has used the recognition to emphasise the importance of international justice and legal institutions, Israel’s Foreign Ministry has framed the decision as an endorsement of allegations it considers false and politically motivated.
The controversy also draws attention to broader disagreements over the role of international institutions in addressing alleged violations of humanitarian and human rights law during armed conflicts.
The award, for Pillay, provides an opportunity to reiterate the need to protect international justice mechanisms from political interference. For Israel, the decision has prompted renewed criticism of the commission’s findings and the international scrutiny surrounding its conduct in Gaza.
The competing responses reflect the wider struggle over how allegations of serious international crimes should be investigated, assessed and addressed, as debates over accountability and the authority of international legal institutions continue.
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