Israel recognizes Armenian genocide, amid tensions with Turkey and UN report on Gaza

Israel's government has unanimously adopted a decision to recognize the genocide against Armenians, Foreign Minister Gideon Saar announced. Saar stated that despite extensive historical documentation, the genocide against Armenians continues to be met with an "institutionalized campaign of denial and minimization," for which he accused the Turkish government.

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It is widely accepted that the Ottoman Empire systematically committed crimes that constitute genocide, with the aim of destroying the Armenian people.

An estimated 1.5 million Armenians were killed between 1915 and 1923. Turkey rejects the term genocide, while more than 30 countries have recognized the mass killings of Armenians as genocide. The Israeli government's decision follows a period of deteriorating relations between Israel and Turkey, which have been particularly strained since the start of the war in Gaza in October 2023.

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genocide against Armenians, despite, as he stated, extensive historical documentation, is still accompanied by an institutionalized campaign of denial and minimization

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and other officials have repeatedly accused Israel of genocide in Gaza, accusations that Israel denies. Turkish Vice President Cevdet Yilmaz, prior to the vote, called Israel's decision an attempt to cover up its own alleged crimes. Saar, however, rejected claims that Israel's recognition of the Armenian genocide was a response to Turkish criticism, stating it was not an act of retaliation for Ankara's hostile policies toward Israel.

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the Israeli decision represents an attempt to cover up, as he stated, its own crimes.

This development occurs shortly after an independent United Nations investigation released a report accusing Israel of continuing to commit genocide by intentionally targeting Palestinian children in Gaza. The UN report stated that Israeli authorities and security forces deliberately targeted Palestinian children, leading to genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes in Gaza, as well as war crimes in the occupied West Bank. Israel's mission to the UN in Geneva rejected the report as a "defamatory propaganda report" and a "defamatory farce," asserting that every child deserves protection and claiming the report ignored Hamas's actions.

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Israel rejects this defamatory farce.