Published 57 minutes ago • loading... • Updated 57 minutes ago
Israel calls Navi Pillay’s win a ‘grotesque weaponization’ of Nobel Peace Prize
Pillay’s panel said Israel committed genocide in Gaza, prompting Israeli leaders to denounce the prize as politically motivated and anti-Israel.
On Friday, October 9, 2026, the Norwegian Nobel Committee awarded the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize to veteran jurist Navi Pillay, recognizing her decades of work defending human rights and strengthening international justice.
Pillay led a three-member U.N. panel that concluded Israel committed genocide in Gaza, citing a policy of "systematically destroying" the healthcare system and humanitarian aid restrictions in their report.
Israel's Foreign Ministry condemned the award as a "grotesque weaponization" of justice, invoking Nazi propagandist Joseph Goebbels in a statement on X claiming he would be "applauding from hell."
Hours after the Nobel announcement, the United States announced sanctions aimed at dismantling the International Criminal Court, deepening the diplomatic rift between Israel and international legal institutions.
Pillay's career, including sentencing individuals for the 1994 Rwandan genocide, demonstrates her decades of focus on international law; her selection intensifies isolation of courts investigating war crimes.
Nobel Peace Prize winner Navanethem Pillay has defended herself against criticism from Israel of her attitude towards the country's action in the Gaza Strip.