Israel moves to formally recognize Armenian WWI deaths as a genocide
TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Israel’s Cabinet unanimously approved Sunday a proposal to define the Ottoman Empire’s violence against Armenians during World War I as genocide.
The step, which still needs to be approved in Parliament, reflects: deteriorating ligaments Between Israel and Türkiye. Türkiye is conducting intense lobbying efforts to prevent countries from officially recognizing mass deaths. Armenians Around 1915, it was considered a genocide even as Armenians were pushing for it.
Historians estimate that 1.5 million Armenians He was killed by the Ottoman Turks during World War I, in what scholars consider the first genocide of the 20th century. Türkiye denies the deaths constitute genocide, saying the death toll was inflated and that those killed were victims of civil war and unrest.
For years, Israel did not officially raise the issue for fear of angering Türkiye, but this relationship has deteriorated over the last two decades, especially in recent years, under the influence of Israel. Wars in Gaza, Lebanon and Iran They were dragged.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar, who presented the decision to the government, said: “Despite comprehensive and clear historical documentation, the Armenian Genocide remains the subject of an institutionalized denial and belittlement campaign to this day, including a manipulative rewriting of history, primarily by the Turkish government.”
He noted that Israeli leaders, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, had previously defined violence against Armenians as genocide. But it was never officially recognized in a vote in Israel’s Knesset.
“It is never too late to do the right thing,” Saar said on Sunday, calling it a “moral and historical duty.”
He noted that 32 countries, including the United States, Syria and Lebanon, also classify the violence as genocide. It is not yet known when Sunday’s decision, which was unanimously approved by the Israeli Cabinet, will go to parliament for approval. There was no immediate reaction from Türkiye.
Israel and Türkiye were once close allies, but relations soured during the rise of Türkiye’s Islamist President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, leading Israel to reconsider its position.
Israel faced repeated accusationsThe attack in Gaza, including the United Nations and Türkiye, said it amounted to genocide. Israel, which was established after the Holocaust, rejects the accusations.
Israel launched the war in response to Hamas’ attack on October 7, 2023. The Gaza Health Ministry, which is part of the Hamas government, says more than 73,000 people have been killed, about half of them women and children. Israel says it does not target civilians and accuses Hamas of using civilians as human shields.
Last week, a team of independent experts commissioned by the United Nations accused Israel of deliberately opening fire. children in Gaza and repeated accusations that Israel is committing genocide. Israel called the report a “slanderous fraud.”
