In a first, Netanyahu recognises Armenian genocide as Israel-Turkey ties strain over Hamas support

In a move likely to stir diplomatic ripples as relations with Turkey deteriorate over its support for Hamas, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has acknowledged for the first time, the mass killings of Armenians, Greeks and Assyrians by the Ottoman Empire during World War I as genocide.

In a podcast conversation with Armenian-born host Patrick Bet-David, Netanyahu was asked about Israel’s stance. He responded: “I think we did. I think the Knesset passed a resolution to that effect,” though no such resolution has ever been adopted by the Israeli parliament.

When pressed further on why no Israeli leader had recognised the events, Netanyahu added: “I just did. Here you go.”

The 1915 massacres and deportations have been formally recognised as genocide by 34 governments worldwide. France and Italy made their declarations in 2019, with French President Emmanuel Macron instituting April 24 as a day of remembrance.

That same year, both chambers of the U.S. Congress passed resolutions on commemoration, and in 2021 President Joe Biden formally recognised the killings as genocide.

Turkey, however, rejects the genocide label. While acknowledging that large numbers of Armenians were killed during clashes with Ottoman forces in World War I, Ankara disputes the figures and denies a systematic campaign of extermination.

Historical background

The roots of the tragedy trace back to the late 19th century, when the Ottoman Empire’s Armenian population, then around two million began seeking greater autonomy. Reprisals by Ottoman irregulars led to the deaths of tens of thousands between 1894 and 1896, including massacres in Constantinople after an Armenian militant group seized the Ottoman Bank.

During World War I, many Armenians sided with advancing Russian forces in eastern Anatolia. On April 24, 1915, Ottoman authorities arrested and killed hundreds of Armenian intellectuals in what is seen as the beginning of the genocide. A month later, large-scale deportations were ordered, forcing Armenians to march south toward Syria and Mesopotamia.

Historians and Armenian sources estimate that about 1.5 million perished through massacres, starvation and exhaustion.

Netanyahu’s statement places Israel among the nations beginning to openly confront this historical chapter, at a moment when ties with Turkey have already come under strain due to Ankara’s staunch defence of Hamas.