Nobel Peace Prize: Notable Nominees Related to Palestine

posted on: Oct 8, 2025

By Jake Harris / Arab America Contributing Writer

The Nobel Prizes, given out annually, are one of the world’s most prestigious honors. The nomination categories consist of different categories, all designed to measure one’s contributions to humanity. The 2025 prize winners will all be announced on separate days in the week of October 6th.​​ The prizes are in medicine, literature, physics, chemistry, and peace. There have been 8 previous Arab Nobel Prize winners. Notably, Anwar Sadat of Egypt received the Peace Prize for his role in the Camp David Accords in 1978.

Nomination of Hind Rajab for The Nobel Peace Prize

The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC), in cooperation with Arizona State law professor Khaled Beydoun, has nominated Hind Rajab. Hind Rajab was a Palestinian girl, aged 6, killed by an Israeli tank shelling while in a vehicle trying to flee Gaza City.

Investigation into the Killing

While Israeli officials denied that their tanks were in the area, multiple investigations, notably from Sky News and satellite imagery refute these claims. 

Owen Jones, a prominent British political commentator and an extremely outspoken voice for Palestine, particularly through his YouTube channel, wrote a column in The Guardian detailing what he saw as the Israeli government’s calculated strategy to sweep incidents like this under the rug. “Deny, Deflect, Deceive, and wait for the attention to move elsewhere”. Jones has been a speaker at multiple protests across the UK in support of Palestine. 

The ADC notes that her death “ignited a historic global outcry against the systematic war crimes committed on Palestinians, particularly children”. In the nomination, they draw a direct comparison between other Nobel laureates and Rajab. Like other Nobel laureates, Hind Rajab inspired an “irrepressible demand for peace”. 

Nomination of Francesca Albanese for the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize

Francesa Albanese has been nominated for the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize by the International Civil Society Action Network, in collaboration with members of the Women’s Alliance for Security Leadership. Albanese is the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian Territories. She has held this position since 2014. She has been outspoken in her claims that Israel is a “apartheid regime” that engages in settler-colonialism. Since 2024, Albanese has called for sanctions and an arms embargo. 

Albanese was involved in a row with British Foreign Secretary David Lammy. Lammy claimed that the number of deaths in Gaza failed to warrant a classification of genocide. Albanese responded in an interview with Middle East Eye by firstly acknowledging that Lammy is not a lawyer, and secondly, that a death toll is not the only measuring stick of what constitutes a genocide. Albanese also questioned what the UK Labour government was doing to stop the killing. 

UN Report on Palestine

Albanese wrote a report titled Genocide as Colonial Erasure detailing the legal arguments behind the allegations of genocidal intent and ethnic cleansing in the Palestinian Territories. She details rhetoric by members of the Israeli government that openly encourage mass displacement and erasure of the Palestinians as a group. She cited an X post by Ariel Kallner, a member of the Knesset, as a footnote to this allegation. 

US Sanctions

Albanese has faced numerous allegations of antisemitism, particularly from the United States. She was sanctioned by the Trump administration. Secretary of State Marco Rubio issued a statement announcing sanctions, citing that Albanese has “open contempt” for Israel, the United States, and the West, and that she “supports terror”. Rubio accused Albanese of participating in “lawfare”. This wave of US sanctions on international figures is part of an umbrella of sanctions on the International Criminal Court.  

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, called for a reversal of the sanctions. He stated that “Even in face of fierce disagreement, UN Member States should engage substantively and constructively, rather than resort to punitive measures”.

Reason for Nomination

In the explanation for her nomination, it is acknowledged how much she stands in opposition to “daunting global power”. She was nominated for her defense of human rights, particularly under pressure. The nomination letter also noted her willingness to promote peace through justice through well-constructed legal institutions. 

In the face of mass tragedy and sorrow, it is important to acknowledge what comes out of these stories. Being bold, as well as serving as inspiration for others, are qualities that have defined many Nobel laureates of the past. Nobel laureates are often individuals who have proven that one individual in a global population can change the world. 

The 2025 Nobel Peace Prize is set to be announced on Friday October 10th, 2025. The award ceremony will take place in December. 

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