June 28, 2026, 2:29 p.mJune 28, 2026, 2:29 p.m
The Israeli government recognized the Armenian Genocide more than 110 years ago. A spokesman for Saar said the cabinet had unanimously accepted a corresponding proposal from Foreign Minister Gideon Saar. “It is never too late to do the right thing,” said the Foreign Minister.
The suggestion came from Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar.Image: keystone
Last year, Benjamin Netanyahu became the first Israeli head of government to acknowledge the genocide in an interview.
According to research by historians, around 1.5 million Armenians died in 1915 and 1916 – during the First World War – as a result of the systematic killings in the Ottoman Empire. Turkey, as the legal successor, rejects the term genocide, i.e. the targeted extermination of the Armenian people using systematic killing methods. Massacres of 300,000 to 500,000 people are admitted.
Long reluctance because of relations with Türkiye
Israel had long avoided official recognition. There were various proposals in parliament, but they never resulted in a formal vote.
The reason for the reluctance was consideration for relations with Turkey. However, these have continued to deteriorate in recent years, particularly in light of Israel’s actions against the Palestinians. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan accused Israel of “genocide” in the Gaza Strip in 2023.
The US Congress recognized the massacres of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire during World War I as genocide in 2019. The German Bundestag had already done this in 2016 – this put a heavy strain on German-Turkish relations at the time. (hkl/sda/dpa)