(Istanbul = Yonhap News) Correspondent Kim Dong-ho = On the 9th (local time), the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs criticized the news that Nabi Pillai (85), interim judge of the International Court of Justice (ICJ), would receive the Nobel Peace Prize, saying, "Joseph Goebbels must be cheering in hell."
Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs claimed in a statement, "The Nobel Committee awarded the prize to the greatest lie of the 21st century."
Justice Pillai is from South Africa and served as one of the first judges of the International Criminal Court (ICC).
The UN Human Rights Council Investigative Committee led by him announced the conclusion in September 2025 that Israel had committed genocide against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs compared Justice Pillai to Goebbels, who was at the forefront of Nazi Germany's propaganda and agitation, and expressed its dissatisfaction with his actions related to Palestine.
Israel's Foreign Ministry said: "If there were an award for lies, hatred and bloody slander, Nabi Pillai would not be just a candidate, but a front-runner."
He also claimed, “The politically motivated actions he showed in demonizing Israel and promoting false propaganda of genocide have significant implications.”
Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs fiercely criticized the award, saying, "Awarding Pillai the Nobel Peace Prize does not serve justice. This is nothing more than a bizarre weaponization of the award to justify anti-Israel hatred and prejudice."
In a separate statement, Israel's prime minister's office said the Nobel Prize committee had "lost its moral compass" and "gave the highest honor to a bigot who has made a career out of fabricating and spreading bloody smears against the only Jewish state."
The Israeli Prime Minister's Office also said, "Naby Pillai's proudest achievement is giving legitimacy to a corrupt prosecutor." This refers to the incident in which ICC Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan, who requested arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the leaders of the Palestinian armed political faction Hamas in connection with the war in the Gaza Strip in May 2024, was eventually dismissed in July of this year after being suspected of sexually harassing a female employee.
Prime Minister Netanyahu mentioned U.S. President Donald Trump and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio in response to the U.S.'s announcement of sanctions against the ICC that day, and said, "Thank you for making such an important decision," the Prime Minister's Office reported.
Prime Minister Netanyahu fiercely criticized the ICC, saying, "The ICC is not a court, but a political organization that poses a fatal threat to the concept of democracy under the rule of law and national sovereignty around the world."
On the other hand, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Palestinian Authority (PA) welcomed the award, saying, "This award is an extremely deserved result," and added, "Judge Pillai devoted his life to protecting the supremacy of law, the cornerstone of the international order, and justice, its core principle."
The PA Foreign Ministry cited Judge Pillai's work on the UN Human Rights Council's Commission of Inquiry, saying, "He made an important contribution to exposing and recording allegations of genocide, sexual violence, attacks targeting children, and other crimes committed by Israel."
