Israel to Consider Official Recognition of the Armenian Genocide

Foreign Minister Gideon Saar is expected in the coming days to bring a government resolution for approval that would formally recognize the Armenian genocide carried out by the Ottoman Empire during World War I. The move is seen as a pointed rebuke to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and comes amid a sharp deterioration in ties between Jerusalem and Ankara.

According to the draft resolution, Israel would recognize, on the basis of moral and historical duty, the genocide committed against the Armenian people in the final years of the Ottoman Empire. It also says denial, minimization, or distortion of the historical truth about those events should be condemned.

Turkey strongly rejects using the term “genocide” for the events of 1915 to 1918, when more than 2 million Armenians were killed. Ankara says the deaths were the result of civil war and uprising, not a planned genocide. If approved, the decision would mark a significant diplomatic step in Israel-Turkey relations.