UN Secretary-General António Guterres, the UNRWA agency, and the International Court of Justice in The Hague have all been nominated for the prestigious Nobel Peace Prize, as reported by Reuters on Thursday.
According to the report, experts close to the process told the news agency these two organizations and the veteran diplomat are considered frontrunners in the race for the prize, which supposably aims to honor those who have brought peace, security, and the protection of the vulnerable.
Video: IDF raid on UNRWA compound, finding drones, rockets, machine guns, and more
António Guterres assumed his role as UN Secretary-General in 2017, having previously served as Portugal's Prime Minister and President of the Socialist International. Since taking office, Russia has invaded Ukraine, committing numerous atrocities. Additionally, devastating civil wars have broken out in Myanmar, Sudan, and Ethiopia, and the Middle East has entered an unprecedented state of conflict that has claimed tens of thousands of lives.
In Israel, Guterres is viewed as pro-Palestinian, and this week Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz declared him a "persona non grata" - an unwelcome persona - within the State of Israel, following his refusal to condemn Iranian aggression after a missile attack on Israel earlier this week.
However, UNRWA's nomination is even more problematic than that of the UN Secretary-General. Throughout the past year of fighting in Gaza, the extent of the Hamas' infiltration into the UN agency has repeatedly come to light. The organization itself admitted that some of its employees, including senior figures, participated in the massacres of October 7 and in the kidnapping of Israeli civilians. The organization's schools and supply systems were commandeered by Hamas, and the group even established a computer and server base beneath UNRWA's headquarters in Gaza City.
