Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Shaar said he will submit a draft resolution to his country's government to officially recognize the Armenian genocide.
The Times of Israel newspaper reports that the resolution will be debated this Sunday and emphasizes that this move will certainly provoke Turkey.
In his post, he emphasizes that recognition "is a moral and historical obligation," while adding that "it is necessary to condemn the denial, degradation, or distortion of historical truth."
In the final stage, the resolution will be put to a vote in Israel's parliament, the Knesset.
In his post, the Israeli minister writes:
“I will submit to the Israeli government for approval, at its next meeting, a draft resolution on the official recognition of the Armenian genocide by the government of Israel.
Recognizing the genocide committed against the Armenian people in the last days of the Ottoman Empire is a moral and historical obligation. At the same time, it is necessary to condemn the denial, degradation or distortion of historical truth.
The resolution will then be put to a vote in the Knesset.”
Israel has long avoided recognizing the massacres as genocide due to the diplomatic sensitivity of the issue, but the significant deterioration of relations with Turkey under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has repeatedly accused Israel of genocide in Gaza, has prompted Israel in recent years to take several steps toward recognition, the Times of Israel adds.
Moreover, last August, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared for the first time that he recognized the genocide.
