Dubai, Oct 10, 2026 00:26 ISTThe Nobel Peace Prize awarded this year to veteran jurist Navi Pillay has sharpened the divide between Israel and international bodies tasked with upholding international law, a rift that has widened during the war in Gaza. The award has been seen in Israel as a high-profile rebuke, coming days after the anniversary of the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack that triggered the war.
Pillay has spent decades in some of the world’s top legal and human rights institutions. As a young lawyer in South Africa, she campaigned against apartheid and for Nelson Mandela’s release, and later helped sentence dozens of people convicted over the 1994 Rwandan genocide. But her leadership of a UN-backed panel that concluded Israel committed genocide in Gaza, an allegation Israel strongly denies, has made her a deeply divisive figure in the country.
Allegations of genocide carry particular weight in Israel, which was founded in part as a refuge for survivors of the Nazi Holocaust. Israel’s Foreign Ministry sharply criticized the recognition on social media, characterizing it as a weaponization of the award to foster prejudice and hatred. The reaction reflects a widely held view in Israel that the United Nations and other international institutions harbor an inherent bias against the nation.
Pillay’s findings, however, have largely mirrored those of major human rights organizations and other international bodies. Pillay led a three-member expert panel established by the UN Human Rights Council, which concluded that Israel committed genocide in Gaza. Their detailed report cited the mounting death toll, restrictions on humanitarian aid leading to widespread hunger, the systematic destruction of the healthcare system, direct targeting of children, and explicit statements of intent by Israeli authorities. Meanwhile, the commission has also issued findings accusing Hamas of war crimes during the October 7 assault, which resulted in about 1,200 deaths and the abduction of 251 people.
Israel has strongly rejected the genocide allegations, describing them as an antisemitic blood libel. The Israeli military maintains that it takes extraordinary measures to avoid civilian casualties, attributing those deaths instead to Hamas operating within densely populated areas. At the same time, the International Court of Justice is reviewing genocide allegations brought by South Africa, and the International Criminal Court has issued an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Even before the latest conflict, Pillay had repeatedly criticized Israel over its military rule over millions of Palestinians. A report issued by her commission accused Israel of de facto annexation of the West Bank, citing the expansion of settlements, the demolition of homes, and the fragmentation of Palestinian life. Israel has consistently refused to cooperate with the commission, arguing that the Human Rights Council disproportionately singles it out while ignoring violations in other repressive countries.