Turkey
accused Israel of using the recognition of the Armenian Genocide to distract from its own actions in Gaza, after Israel's cabinet unanimously voted on Sunday to formally recognize the 1915 massacres as genocide.
In a statement, Turkey's Foreign Ministry wrote, "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 statement added that the decision "reveals the predicament of Netanyahu and his accomplices, who have arrest warrants against them" from the International Criminal Court.
Israel's cabinet approved the proposal in a unanimous vote, with the decision still requiring a Knesset vote to become fully binding. Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar, who spearheaded the move, said immediately after the vote, "Just a short while ago, the Government of Israel approved the resolution I brought before it to officially recognize the Armenian Genocide." Saar called recognition a moral imperative rooted in Jewish identity. "As Jews, and especially as the nation-state of the Jewish people, I believe it is our moral duty to make this decision," he said, adding that the cabinet's resolution explicitly condemns any denial or minimization of the genocide.
