Netanyahu responds to Erdogan's attacks and acknowledges the Turkish genocide against Armenians

It was Benjamin Netanyahu, through a brief statement on social media platform X, later confirmed by the prime minister himself in conversation with conservative podcaster Patrick Bet David, who took the step of making a recognition that none of his predecessors had been w
illing to make. 

The information, disseminated through the Brussels-based European Jewish Press, summarises the conversation between the two, particularly Bet David's question as to why Jerusalem had not yet recognised the Armenian genocide (1915-1917), and Netanyahu's response: ‘In fact, I believe we have recognised it; I believe the Knesset already passed a resolution to that effect.’ 

Indeed, the archives of the Israeli legislature contain the resolution issued on 1 August 2016 by the legislators of the Knesset's Education, Culture and Sports Committee, recognising the Armenian genocide and urging the government to do so formally.

When asked why no Israeli prime minister has publicly described the events of World War I as genocide, Netanyahu replied, ‘I just did, here you go.’ Subsequently, a spokesperson for the Prime Minister's Office stated that he would add nothing to Netanyahu's comments.

As head of government, in 2018 Netanyahu was urged by then-Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan to recognise the mass killings of 1.5 million Armenians by the Ottoman government as genocide. Subsequently, the Israeli Foreign Ministry assessed the possible consequences of such recognition, concluding that Ankara would most likely react by expelling Israeli embassy staff and simultaneously withdrawing the Turkish ambassador in Tel Aviv.

Netanyahu's current move can therefore be seen as a reaction to the overt hostility towards Israel shown by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan following the start of the Gaza war, triggered by the massacre carried out by Hamas terrorists on 7 October 2023.

Last March, Erdogan publicly prayed for the destruction of the Jewish state while leading prayers at a mosque in Istanbul for the end of Ramadan: ‘May Allah, for the sake of his name, Al-Qahhar (The Conqueror), destroy and devastate Zionist Israel,’ the Turkish president told those in attendance, before concluding: "May all of us, witnessing what is happening there [in the Gaza Strip], remain united, strong and resilient as brothers; may Allah keep our unity eternal.

Previously, the Turkish leader had branded Netanyahu a ’vampire who feeds on blood," while urging Muslims around the world to take up arms against Israel. In fact, in statements to Newsweek in July 2024, Erdogan openly threatened to invade Israel in an inflammatory speech televised throughout the country: "We must be very strong to prevent Israel from doing what it is doing in Palestine. Just as we entered Karabakh, just as we entered Libya, we could do the same to them. There is nothing we cannot do," the Turkish president concluded on that occasion.