29.06.2026 13:50
Fuat Oktay, Chairman of the Turkish Parliament's Foreign Affairs Commission, strongly reacted to the Israeli government's decision to recognize the events of 1915-1916 as "genocide." Oktay argued that Israel, which is being tried at the International Court of Justice on charges of "genocide" in Palestine, cannot make such a decision against Turkey, and stated that it would be more appropriate for the Israeli Parliament to make a decision regarding Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, for whom there is an arrest warrant, rather than targeting Turkey.
The Israeli government has decided to recognize the events of the Armenian deportation of 1915-1916 as "genocide." The proposal, submitted by Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar, was reportedly approved unanimously by the cabinet.
For the decision to take effect, it must pass the approval of the Israeli Parliament (Knesset).
FOREIGN MINISTER: IT'S NOT TOO LATE TO DO THE RIGHT THING
In a statement following the decision, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar said, "In my opinion, it is time for Israel, as a Jewish state, to officially recognize this. It is never too late to do the right thing."
STRONG REACTION FROM ANKARA
One of the first reactions from Turkey to the decision came from Fuat Oktay, the head of the Turkish Grand National Assembly's Foreign Affairs Committee.
In a post on his social media account, Oktay recalled that Israel is being tried on charges of "genocide" at the International Court of Justice due to its actions against Palestinians, and stated that Israel is not in a position to make a decision against Turkey regarding the events of 1915.
Oktay also argued that instead of targeting Turkey with "baseless accusations," it would be more appropriate for the Israeli Parliament to make a decision regarding Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, for whom there is an international arrest warrant.
NETANYAHU ALSO MADE A SIMILAR STATEMENT LAST YEAR
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in an interview last year, announced for the first time as Israeli Prime Minister that he recognized the events of 1915 as "genocide."
With this latest decision, the issue has been formally adopted at the cabinet level by the Israeli government for the first time. Similar initiatives had been made in the Israeli Parliament before, but they did not result in an official vote.