Armenian Genocide designation gains Israel Cabinet backing, pending Knesset approval

Israel’s Cabinet on Sunday backed a plan to label World War I-era killings of Armenians as genocide. The proposal passed unanimously, but it still needs approval in Israel’s Parliament. The move came as relations between Israel and Turkiye continued to worsen. Turkiye has long opposed official recognition by other states.

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Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar brought the measure to the government. Saar said there was strong evidence about the events. "Despite the extensive and unambiguous historical documentation, the Armenian Genocide remains to this day the subject of an institutionalised campaign of denial and minimisation, including a manipulative rewriting of history, mainly by the Turkish government,\" Saar said.

Israel-Turkiye ties and Armenian Genocide vote

Saar said past Israeli leaders used the term genocide for the Armenian killings. Saar also mentioned Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in that context. Still, Israel’s Knesset has never passed a formal recognition vote. \"It is never too late to do the right thing,\" Saar said Sunday. Saar described recognition as a moral duty.

It was not clear when the Cabinet-approved decision would reach the Knesset. There was no immediate response from Turkiye after Sunday’s vote. Israel and Turkiye once worked closely together. Ties weakened during the rise of Turkiye’s Islamist President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Israel then began reviewing its earlier cautious approach.

Armenian Genocide recognition and disputed death toll

Armenians have pressed for recognition of mass deaths around 1915 as genocide. Turkiye has lobbied hard to stop such decisions abroad. Historians estimate up to 1.5 million Armenians were killed by Ottoman Turks then. Many scholars view the episode as the first genocide of the 20th century.

Turkiye rejects the genocide label for the 1915-era deaths. Turkiye says the death toll was exaggerated. Turkiye also says those who died were victims of civil war and unrest. Saar said 32 countries already classify the violence as genocide. Saar listed the United States, Syria and Lebanon among them.

Gaza war accusations and Israel-Turkiye disputes

Israel has faced recurring claims that its Gaza offensive is genocide. The United Nations and Turkiye have been among those making accusations. Israel denies the charge and cites its founding after the Holocaust. Israel started the war after Hamas’ October 7, 2023, attack. The wars in Gaza, Lebanon and Iran also strained Israel-Turkiye ties.

Gaza’s Health Ministry, part of the Hamas government, says over 73,000 people were killed. The ministry says about half were women and children. Israel says it does not target civilians. Israel also accuses Hamas of using civilians as human shields. Last week, UN-commissioned experts accused Israel of shooting children deliberately.

The same UN-commissioned experts repeated claims that Israel carried out a genocide. Israel rejected the findings and disputed the report’s credibility. Israel called the report a libelous sham. Israel’s Cabinet vote on the Armenian genocide proposal still needs Knesset approval. Turkiye’s position on the Armenian deaths remained unchanged at the time.

With inputs from PTI