South African jurist Navi Pillay, 85, wins Nobel Peace Prize; Israel condemns it over her Gaza genocide finding

Political Guyentist · October 10, 20261 min read

Pillay led the UN panel that found in September 2025 that Israel had committed genocide in Gaza. Israel's Foreign Ministry called it "the grotesque weaponization of an award to legitimize anti-Israel hatred." Trump has wanted the prize. He criticized the Nobel committee.

Also on the recordPillay is South Africa's 5th Nobel Peace Prize laureate (BBC).3 details

Pillay is South Africa's 5th Nobel Peace Prize laureate (BBC).
Nobel chair Jørgen Watne Frydnes couldn't reach her in advance: "if you see a Norwegian number calling, please pick up."
Pillay, hearing the news: "If you clap a little bit more, I may share this prize with Trump."

What we’re less sure of2 of 8 claims

Medium
Israel condemned the award over Pillay's Gaza genocide finding.
Israel's Foreign Ministry statement attributes the condemnation to anti-Israel motives, which supports the link to Gaza. However, the BBC reports that committee chair Frydnes separated the award from any position on Gaza genocide. The 'over the finding' framing is therefore partly the desk's inferen
Medium
On hearing the news, Pillay said: "If you clap a little bit more, I may share this prize with Trump."
This is a named quote attributed to Pillay. It appears to rest mainly on The Hill's report on her Trump comments. The 'hearing the news' context is the desk's framing and is not independently confirmed in the other listed sources.