Israel approves proposal to recognise WWI killings of Armenians as genocide amid worsening ties with Turkey

Israel's Cabinet on Sunday unanimously approved a proposal to officially recognise the mass killings of Armenians by the Ottoman Empire during World War I as a genocide, marking a significant policy shift that still requires approval from Parliament before becoming official.

The move comes against the backdrop of worsening relations between Israel and Turkey. Ankara has long campaigned against international recognition of the killings around 1915 as genocide, while Armenians have continued to press governments worldwide to formally acknowledge the events.

Historians estimate that up to 1.5 million Armenians were killed by Ottoman Turks around the time of World War I, in what is widely regarded by scholars as the first genocide of the 20th century. Turkey rejects the genocide designation, maintaining that the death toll has been exaggerated and arguing that those who died were victims of civil war and unrest.

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For years, Israel refrained from formally addressing the issue to avoid straining relations with Turkey. However, the relationship has deteriorated over the past two decades, particularly during the recent conflicts in Gaza, Lebanon and Iran.

Foreign minister calls recognition a moral duty

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar, who presented the proposal to the Cabinet, said, "Despite the extensive and unambiguous historical documentation, the Armenian Genocide remains to this day the subject of an institutionalized campaign of denial and minimization, including a manipulative rewriting of history, mainly by the Turkish government."

Saar noted that Israeli leaders, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, had previously described the violence against Armenians as a genocide, but the country's parliament, the Knesset, has never formally recognised it through a vote.

"It is never too late to do the right thing," Saar said on Sunday, describing the move as a "moral and historical duty".

He also said that 32 countries, including the United States, Syria and Lebanon, have recognised the violence as genocide. It was not immediately known when the Cabinet-approved proposal would be presented to Parliament.

Turkey slams Israel's decision

Turkey condemned the move, describing it as "politically motivated" and accusing Israel of attempting to divert attention from its actions against Palestinians.

"The Israeli government, which systematically persecutes the Palestinian people in full view of the world and is being tried at the International Court of Justice for genocide against the people of Gaza, aims to cover up its own crimes," the Turkish Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

"This malicious attempt, which disregards legal and historical facts, reveals the predicament of Netanyahu and his accomplices, who have arrest warrants against them in connection with the investigation into crimes committed against Palestinians at the International Criminal Court," the statement added.

Long-standing tensions and Gaza allegations

Israel and Turkey were once close allies, but ties deteriorated during the rise of Turkey's Islamist President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, prompting Israel to reconsider its position on the Armenian genocide.

Israel has repeatedly faced accusations, including from the United Nations and Turkey, that its military offensive in Gaza amounts to genocide. Israel, which was founded in the aftermath of the Holocaust, rejects those allegations.

Israel launched the war in response to Hamas' October 7, 2023, attack. Gaza's Health Ministry, part of the Hamas government, says over 73,000 people have been killed, roughly 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 shooting children in Gaza and repeated allegations that Israel had carried out a genocide. Israel dismissed the report as a "libellous sham".