Turkey on Sunday denounced Israel’s decision to recognize the mass killings of Armenians by the Ottoman Empire during World War I as genocide, calling it a “political” move aimed at covering up Israel’s actions in Gaza.
In a statement the Turkish Foreign Ministry accused the Israeli government of trying to divert attention from its military campaign in Gaza, where more than 75,000 Palestinians have been killed.
“The Israeli government, which has systematically persecuted the Palestinian people before the eyes of the entire world and is being tried at the International Court of Justice on charges of committing genocide against the people of Gaza, is seeking to cover up its own crimes through the political decision it has adopted regarding the events of 1915,” the ministry said.
The ministry said Turkey would “continue to work resolutely” to bring an end to what it called Israel’s “expansionist and destabilizing policies” in the region.
Israel’s cabinet on Sunday unanimously approved Foreign Minister Gideon Saar’s proposal to recognize the killings of Armenians during World War I as genocide. The decision must still be ratified by parliament.
The move marks a sharp shift for Israel, whose governments had long avoided formal recognition, partly to preserve ties with Turkey, once one of its closest strategic partners in the region.
Relations between Turkey and Israel have deteriorated sharply since the war in Gaza began after Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attacks on Israel.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has become one of Israel’s fiercest critics, repeatedly accusing it of committing genocide in Gaza, an accusation Israel denies.
Turkey strongly rejects the genocide label for the 1915 killings, saying both Armenians and Turks died during World War I and putting the death toll in the hundreds of thousands. Armenians say 1.5 million people were killed in a campaign of mass deportations and killings by Ottoman authorities.
The killings have been recognized as genocide by more than two dozen countries, including the United States, France and Germany.
© Agence France-Presse