Israel Formally Recognizes Armenian Genocide, Likely Targeting Türkiye

The coalition cabinet led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu officially decided on Saturday, June 27, to recognize the Armenian Genocide.

Following the cabinet meeting, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar posted on X (formerly Twitter), stating, "I thank the government ministers who voted unanimously in favor of the resolution I proposed to recognize the Armenian genocide."

"Israel joins 32 countries that have fulfilled their moral duty to recognize historical truth and reject attempts to deny it," Sa'ar said, adding, "It is never too late to do the right thing."

According to the daily newspaper The Times of Israel, Sa'ar stated in a separate video statement in Hebrew, "This horrific massacre, which took place about 100 years ago and is beyond dispute in terms of facts, claimed the lives of 1.5 million people and destroyed a cultural heritage that boasted a long history and tradition."

Although Minister Sa'ar did not explicitly name Türkiye as the perpetrator of the genocide, this resolution is interpreted as a move intentionally aimed at provoking Türkiye regarding its stance on the historical view that the former Ottoman Empire committed genocide against Armenians.

Turkish authorities have not yet issued an official response regarding this matter.

Many historians believe that the Ottoman Empire, the predecessor to modern-day Türkiye, massacred Armenians and other ethnic minorities between 1915 and 1923, estimating that approximately 1.5 million people died as a result.

In response, Türkiye uses the term '1915 events' and does not acknowledge the genocide itself, claiming it was the result of mutual conflicts that occurred during wartime.

Türkiye also claims that the number of Armenians who died is around 300,000.

About 30 countries, including the United States, France, Germany, Russia, Argentina, and Brazil, have officially recognized the Armenian Genocide.

Israel had previously avoided using the term 'genocide' regarding this event to avoid tensions with Türkiye.

However, as the Turkish government defended the Palestinian militant group Hamas following its surprise attack on Israel in October 2023, tensions between the two countries escalated, and this historical event has been repeatedly summoned as a subject of dispute.

(Photo: Screenshot of X @gidonsaar, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.