Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman

Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman stated on Sunday that the Israeli position
on the recognition of the Armenian Genocide has not changed, and it is currently unacceptable for the country to recognize the systematic massacres of the Armenian population of the Ottoman Empire as genocide.

“I do not think that it is acceptable to rake this very issue, which is in many respects purely historical, controversial and theoretical. I do not think that this has a concrete impact on Israel’s current position on Turkey,” Lieberman told an interview to RTV TV channel as quoted by Turkish media sources.

The issue of the Armenian genocide recognition came to the spotlight of Israeli politics when opposition Yesh Atid Party leader Yair Lapid announced the need for Israel to adopt a dramatically more aggressive policy toward Turkey. The opposition politician called the authorities to recognize an independent Kurdistan and acknowledge the Armenian genocide, which Ottoman Turks committed a century ago.

Lapid’s comments come amid increasing bilateral tensions over Turkey’s comments on Israel’s imposition of new security measures in the wake of a terror attack on Jerusalem’s Temple Mount.