In a post on X, Netanyahu's office accused Pillay of promoting hostility towards Jews and questioned the Nobel committee's decision to honour her.
"The Nobel Prize committee has lost its moral compass. It has awarded its highest honour to a bigot who built her career around inventing and propagating blood libels against the one and only Jewish state," the statement said.
The Nobel Prize committee has lost its moral compass. It has awarded its highest honor to a bigot who built her career around inventing and propagating blood libels against the one and only Jewish state. Navi Pillay’s proudest achievement was to legitimize a corrupt prosecutor who turned to her fabrications against Israel hoping that by joining her bigoted lynch mob, he would beat a rape charge. Karim Khan, who was accused by his own ICC employees of raping and sexually molesting them, used Pillay’s lies to build a fake case against Israel. Pillay supplied the lies. Khan weaponized them. And now the misguided members of the Nobel Committee are honoring the woman who propagated this demonization of the Jews and this travesty of justice.
— Prime Minister of Israel (@IsraeliPM) October 9, 2026
The post further accused Pillay of fostering what it described as the "demonisation of the Jews".
Pillay led UN Commission on Gaza
Pillay previously headed the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, which examined alleged violations of international law in the region.
In a report released last year, the commission concluded that Israel was committing genocide in Gaza.
The findings intensified international debate over Israel's military operations and the legal characterisation of the conflict.
The commission is an independent investigative body and does not speak on behalf of the United Nations as a whole.
Nobel decision sparks fresh controversy
Netanyahu's office directed its criticism at both Pillay and the Nobel committee, arguing that the award was inappropriate given her position on Israel.
The remarks underscore the continuing international divisions over the war in Gaza, allegations of genocide and the accountability of parties involved in the conflict.
The Israeli government has consistently rejected accusations of genocide in Gaza, while the commission's findings have contributed to wider legal and diplomatic scrutiny of Israel's conduct in the Palestinian territory.