Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has recognized the genocide committed by the Ottoman Empire against Armenians, Greeks and Assyrians during World War I, for the first time in the country, reports "Euronews".
During a podcast interview with an Armenian-born host, Netanyahu said: "I think we did it. I think the Knesset passed a resolution to that effect", although such legislation has not been passed by the Israeli parliament.
When asked why no Israeli prime minister has ever recognized the mass killings, Netanyahu replied: "I just did it. Here."
Turkey condemned and rejected the Israeli prime minister's remarks on the events of 1915, Anadolu Agency reported
"Benjamin Netanyahu's statement on the events of 1915 is an attempt to exploit past tragic events for political reasons," the Turkish Foreign Ministry said in a statement. Netanyahu, who is on trial for his role in the genocide committed against the Palestinian people, is trying to cover up the crimes he and his government committed," the ministry said. "We condemn and reject this statement, which is incompatible with historical and legal facts," the statement added.
Burhanettin Duran, head of Turkey's Communications Directorate, also criticized Netanyahu's statement, calling it "blatant hypocrisy."
"At a time when thousands of innocent people in Gaza are being subjected to systematic genocide, with children, the elderly and women dying from bombs and starvation, Netanyahu's statements regarding the events of 1915 are blatant hypocrisy that exploits history and the law," he wrote on the Turkish social media platform NSosyal.
Armenia has demanded international recognition of the systematic killings, which led to the deaths of an estimated 1.5 million people, as genocide. Turkey, on the other hand, strongly rejects claims that the mass killings and forced deportation of hundreds of thousands of Armenians amounted to genocide.
Israel, one of Turkey's key trading partners, has long wavered in its official stance. In 2001, then-Foreign Minister Shimon Peres categorically denied what he called "Armenian allegations." He added that Israel rejects "attempts to draw a parallel between the Holocaust and Armenian allegations."
In 2000, however, then-Education Minister Yossi Sarid of the left-wing Meretz party announced plans to include the Armenian Genocide in Israel's history curriculum. Eleven years later, a member of the far-right National Union party introduced a bill to declare April 24 an official day of remembrance for the massacre.
Although the Knesset held its first debate on recognizing the genocide and the majority seemed to be in favor, the issue was ultimately not put to a vote.
Former Israeli President Reuven Rivlin, who was known as an advocate of recognition, refrained during his presidency from taking any official steps, including renewing his signature on an annual petition calling for recognition.
In 2018, a vote in the Knesset to recognize the Armenian Genocide was canceled due to a lack of sufficient support from the ruling coalition.