An Israeli government proposal to recognize the Armenian genocide has resurfaced amid mutual accusations between President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the UN General Assembly. According to an analysis published in Donya-e-Eqtesad, the issue could become a new lever of pressure in Turkish-Israeli tensions.
According to an article written for the newspaper by Dr. Vali Kaleji, a researcher on Russia, Central Asia and the Caucasus, Erdogan sharply criticized Israel in his speech to the General Assembly on Sept. 22, calling Israel's actions in Gaza "state terrorism" and asserting that about 74,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children, had been killed over the past three years. Erdogan described Israel as having a "genocidal mindset" and called on the international community to put more pressure on Israel.
In his reply on Sept. 24, Netanyahu accused Erdogan of killing Kurdish civilians, jailing journalists and opposition leaders, and occupying Northern Cyprus. Netanyahu also said Erdogan "denies the Armenian genocide." According to Al Jazeera, Netanyahu described Turkey, together with Qatar, as "the newest super-spreaders of antisemitic lies," and some delegations walked out of the hall during his speech. Erdogan responded on Sept. 26 at a MUSIAD event in Istanbul: "The place for war criminals is not the UN podium; they must answer in court for the crimes they have committed and the blood they have shed."
Cabinet approval, stalled in parliament
According to the analysis, what stood out in this war of words was Netanyahu's revival of the Armenian genocide issue. According to Haaretz, Israel's cabinet unanimously approved a proposal to recognize the Armenian genocide on June 29 at the suggestion of Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar; the proposal needed to go to the plenary of the Knesset (Israel's parliament) for final approval. However, when the proposal was submitted to the Knesset, the vote was suspended after the intervention of Azerbaijan, which is trying to maintain its alliance with both Turkey and Israel. The analysis writes that Netanyahu's renewed mention of the issue at the UN podium suggests the proposal could return to the agenda with the new Knesset lineup after Israel's Oct. 27 elections, and could be used by Israel as a "bargaining chip" or "sword of Damocles" against Turkey.
Context
Armenian communities describe the deaths and forced deportations of 1915 in the Ottoman period as "genocide," while Turkey officially rejects this characterization. More than thirty countries have so far recognized these events as genocide; Israel has been among the countries that long avoided this step for geopolitical reasons. Azerbaijan attaches particular importance to mediating on this issue, as it maintains both a "one nation, two states" relationship with Turkey and close arms and energy trade with Israel; Baku sees a widening dispute between its two allies as contrary to its own interests. For Turkey, the issue is intertwined with ongoing diplomatic tensions with the Netanyahu government over Gaza; any new step in Israel, together with the new Knesset lineup that will emerge after Israel's Oct. 27 elections, is therefore being watched as an additional point of friction in Ankara-Tel Aviv relations.
