Israel’s government formally recognises the Armenian genocide committed during World War I

"A historic decision: the Israeli government has unanimously approved Foreign Minister Gideon Saar's proposal to recognise the Armenian genocide," the foreign ministry said. The cabinet's decision must still be ratified by parliament. The Israeli government on Sunday unanimously recognised the massacres of Armenians during World War I as genocide, a move widely seen as a rebuke to Turkey and a clear signal of the deepening rift between the two countries. Ties between Israel and Turkey have sharply deteriorated since the outbreak of the Gaza war following attacks by the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas in October 2023. “A historic decision: the Israeli government has unanimously approved Foreign Minister Gideon Saar's proposal to recognise the Armenian genocide,” the foreign ministry said. The decision still requires ratification by parliament. “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 at a cabinet meeting, according to a statement issued by his office. “I think the time has come for Israel, as a Jewish state, to formally accept this position... It is never too late to do the right thing... this is both a moral and historical duty.” Successive Israeli governments had previously avoided formally recognising the Armenian genocide, partly in order to preserve relations with Turkey, once one of Israel’s closest strategic partners in the region.