Key facts
- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan rejected Israel's vote to formally recognize the Armenian genocide.
- Erdogan accused Israel of committing genocide in Gaza and denied any Turkish historical genocide.
- The Israeli Cabinet's recognition vote still requires parliamentary approval.
- Turkey attributes the deaths of Armenians during WWI to civil war and unrest, not genocide.
- Relations between Turkey and Israel have significantly deteriorated, especially due to the conflict in Gaza.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has dismissed an Israeli proposal to recognize the mass killing of Armenians by the Ottoman Empire during World War I as genocide, turning the accusation back on Israel over its killing of Palestinians in Gaza. The Israeli Cabinet approved the measure, which still requires parliamentary approval, amid deteriorating ties between the two nations.
Türkiye has long opposed official recognition of the 1915 mass killings of Armenians as genocide, a stance contested by Armenians and many international scholars who estimate up to 1.5 million Armenians were killed. Turkey maintains that the deaths were a result of civil war and unrest, not genocide, and that the death toll has been exaggerated.