Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu criticizes Nobel Peace Prize winner Navi Pillay, calling her a “bigot” after the Norwegian Nobel Committee awards her the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize for promoting peace and international law.
Multiple outlets report that Netanyahu’s remarks target Pillay’s record in international accountability efforts related to Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories. NDTV says Pillay previously led the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, which it describes as not speaking for the UN and which, in a prior finding, said Israel was committing “genocide” in Gaza. The outlets frame the dispute as a response to Pillay’s institutional role and the legal and political controversy around the commission’s conclusions.
While the prize citation emphasizes Pillay’s broader work on peace and international law, Netanyahu’s comments focus on her involvement in statements and findings about events in Gaza and the credibility of those processes. The reporting reflects a clash between the Nobel Committee’s assessment and Netanyahu’s criticism of Pillay’s past work.
