Frankfurt (Germany), 9 Oct. (LaPresse) – Navi Pillay, the South African legal scholar awarded the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize, had accused Israel of committing genocide in the Gaza Strip. In a statement issued on 16 September 2025 by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), Pillay, then chair of the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territories and Israel, had presented the findings of a report stating that the Israeli authorities had committed acts of genocide against the Palestinian population of Gaza. “The Commission considers that Israel is responsible for committing genocide in Gaza,” Pillay had stated, arguing that there was an intention to target Palestinians in the Strip through acts falling under the 1948 Genocide Convention. According to the inquiry, Israeli forces had committed four of the five acts of genocide identified by the Convention. The Commission had also accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, President Isaac Herzog and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant of incitement to genocide.
Nobel: Pillay accused Israel of genocide in Gaza
Frankfurt (Germany), 9 Oct. (LaPresse) – Navi Pillay, the South African legal scholar awarded the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize, had accused Israel of committing genocide in the Gaza Strip. In a statement issued on 16 September 2025 by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), Pillay, then chair of the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territories and Israel, had presented the findings of a report stating that the Israeli authorities had committed acts of genocide against the Palestinian population of Gaza. “The Commission considers that Israel is responsible for committing genocide in Gaza,” Pillay had stated, arguing that there was an intention to target Palestinians in the Strip through acts falling under the 1948 Genocide Convention. According to the inquiry, Israeli forces had committed four of the five acts of genocide identified by the Convention. The Commission had also accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, President Isaac Herzog and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant of incitement to genocide.