Israel's Cabinet on Sunday unanimously approved a proposal to formally recognize the mass deaths of Armenians by the Ottoman Empire during World War I as genocide. This step, which requires subsequent approval from the Israeli Parliament, underscores the increasingly strained relationship between Israel and Turkey.
Historians estimate that up to 1.5 million Armenians perished around the time of World War I, an event widely considered by scholars to be the 20th century's first genocide. Turkey, however, disputes the genocide classification, asserting that the death toll has been exaggerated and that those killed were casualties of civil war and internal conflict.
For years, Israel refrained from officially acknowledging the events, a stance attributed to concerns about alienating Turkey. However, relations between the two nations have significantly deteriorated over the past two decades, particularly amid ongoing conflicts in Gaza, Lebanon, and Iran.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar, who introduced the proposal, stated that the Armenian Genocide remains the target of an "institutionalized campaign of denial and minimization, including a manipulative rewriting of history, mainly by the Turkish government," despite extensive historical documentation. Saar described the recognition as a "moral and historical duty."
While Israeli leaders, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, have previously referred to the violence against Armenians as genocide, it had not received formal recognition through a parliamentary vote. Saar noted that 32 other countries, including the United States, Syria, and Lebanon, have already classified the events as genocide.
Once close allies, Israel and Turkey saw their relationship falter with the rise of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. This shift led Israel to re-evaluate its stance on the Armenian genocide issue.
Israel has itself faced accusations of genocide, notably in relation to its military operations in Gaza. These accusations have been leveled by entities including the United Nations and Turkey. Israel, established in the aftermath of the Holocaust, denies these allegations. The current conflict in Gaza began in response to Hamas's October 7, 2023, attack. Gaza's Health Ministry reports over 73,000 fatalities, with roughly half being women and children. Israel maintains it does not target civilians and accuses Hamas of using civilians as human shields. A recent report by independent UN-commissioned experts accused Israel of deliberately shooting children in Gaza and reiterated genocide accusations, which Israel characterized as a "libelous sham."