Turkey: Israel Attempts to Cover Up Its Crimes in Gaza by Acknowledging the Armenian Genocide

SadaNews - Turkey condemned Israel's acknowledgment of the massacres suffered by Armenians during World War I as genocide, considering the decision "political" and aimed at covering up Israel's "crimes."

In a statement from the Turkish Foreign Ministry, it was noted that "the Israeli government, which systematically persecutes the Palestinian people before the eyes of the entire world and is being tried at the International Court of Justice for committing genocide against the people of Gaza, is trying to cover up its crimes through the political decision it made regarding the events of 1915."

Relations between Israel and Turkey have sharply deteriorated following the Israeli genocide in the Gaza Strip since October 7, 2023.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is one of the most prominent defenders of the Palestinian cause and has repeatedly criticized what he described as Israeli "terrorism" in Gaza. The Turkish Foreign Ministry's statement added: "Turkey continues to work firmly to put an end to Israel's expansionist and destabilizing policies in the region."

Previous Israeli governments have avoided officially recognizing the Armenian genocide in an attempt to maintain relations with Turkey, which has been one of Israel's closest strategic partners in the region.

Armenians are seeking to push the international community to recognize the genocide, during which up to 1.5 million people were killed between 1915 and 1916, when Ottoman authorities suppressed the Christian Armenian minority, accusing them of treachery and loyalty to Russia.

Turkey, which emerged after the dissolution of the empire in 1920, acknowledges that massacres occurred, but refuses to label them as genocide, considering that what happened was in the context of a civil war in Anatolia accompanied by famine, leading to the deaths of between 300,000 and 500,000 Armenians and a similar number of Turks.