Türkiye is indebted to people oppressed by Israel, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said while speaking at an event organized by the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) on Sunday.
On the same day the Israeli government approved the recognition of the so-called Armenian genocide, Erdoğan told fellow party members at the event in Sakarya that they would hold those behind the Gaza genocide to account.
The Israeli government on Sunday unanimously recognized the World War I “genocide,” in an apparent rebuke to Türkiye after stalling similar efforts for recognition for years. The Netanyahu administration, which is behind the war crimes in Gaza that has killed tens of thousands since 2023 and practically razed the Palestinian enclave to the ground, had hinted earlier at the issue. In almost every instance Erdoğan spoke about the crimes of Netanyahu and “his network of murderers,” Netanyahu and his associates were quick to bring up what they called the “genocide” against Kurds and Armenians by Türkiye.
"A historic decision: the Israeli government has unanimously approved Foreign Minister Gideon Saar's proposal to recognize the Armenian genocide," Israel’s Foreign Ministry said on Sunday. The Cabinet's decision must still be ratified by Parliament. Saar said at the Cabinet meeting that the “genocide” has been subject to “denial and minimization.”
Successive Israeli governments had avoided formally recognizing the so-called genocide, in part to preserve relations with Türkiye, once one of Israel's closest strategic partners in the region. Under Erdoğan, however, the relations on the brink of revival after a period of tensions, again, under Erdoğan, took an irreversible hit. The Turkish leader garnered global admiration for standing against Israel’s genocide of Palestinians and often likened Netanyahu to Hitler, the architect of the Holocaust. Saar insisted that the recognition was not an act of retaliation.
The issue of the so-called genocide has deeply affected possible ties between Türkiye and Armenia. A strong Armenian lobby touted the incidents in the Ottoman territories between 1915 and 1917, which involved the relocation of Armenians en masse as genocide. Türkiye rejects the accusations although it has acknowledged that Armenians, alongside Turks, died during the period. Türkiye also disputes the account that 1.5 million Armenians died and states that the actual death toll, often linked to diseases and other factors, was far below this figure.
Though the issue has overshadowed the possibility of normalization between Türkiye and Armenia in the past, it appears to have taken a back seat in a new push for revival of ties, in parallel with a similar process between Azerbaijan and Armenia. Under Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, who recently secured another term with an election victory, ties have flourished with delegations working to iron out differences. Pashinyan and his top diplomats also visited Türkiye in a rare display of steps towards normalization. Though Armenia did not abandon its claim of a genocide taking place during the last days of Ottoman Empire, the Pashinyan government is less vocal about it and focuses on the future of relations rather than the past, best symbolized in the “Real Armenia” doctrine.
“The ummah has expectations from us,” Erdoğan told the Consultation and Assessment Meeting of the AK Party, an annual retreat for lawmakers, administrators and ministers. “We made promises to the oppressed. We have a responsibility,” he said.
Erdoğan then delved into the tragic lives of Palestinians cut short by Israeli attacks. He reminded how Hind Rajab, a 5-year-old Palestinian girl, was deliberately killed while awaiting for ambulance after Israel fired on her family’s car and killed her relatives in 2024. “They killed infants, they killed children in the parks, schools, hospitals. They massacred thousands of babies. A genocide took place in Gaza and they still attack. Undoubtedly, we will hold them accountable for this genocide. We will, we will never neglect doing so. Allah willing, people here will be able to do that,” Erdoğan told the event.
