Official recognition

Lawmakers in Israel debated on Monday whether or not the country should officially consider the 1915 mass killing of around 1.5 million Armenians by Ottoman Turks genocide.

Should Israel take the step, it risks putting further strain on an already tense relationship with Turkey, a point that was brought up by the Israeli Foreign Ministry during the debate.

"Our relations with Turkey today are so fragile and so delicate that there is no room to push them over the red line," said Irit Lillian, an official from the Foreign Ministry.

In 2010, an aid ship bound for Gaza was boarded by Israeli commandos to stop the boat from crossing Israel's blockade. A violent struggle ensued, and nine Turkish activists on board the ship were killed. Israel maintains its forces were defending themselves when the activists became violent.

As a result of the incident, Turkey withdrew its ambassador in Israel and the two nations have suspended military cooperation.

'Moral obligation'

But many lawmakers in Turkey argue that the Armenian killing in World War I should be recognized as genocide, given the number of Jewish victims of genocide during the Holocaust.

"Israel has a moral and historical obligation… to recognize the genocide of the Armenian people," said parliamentarian Zahava Gal-On on Monday.

Last week, France passed draft legislation that would make it illegal to deny that the mass killings in Armenia from 1915 to 1917 were genocide. The move sparked fury from Ankara, and Turkey said it would impose sanctions against France if the measure is passed.

Turkey maintains that no genocide was committed and that there was heavy loss of life on both sides of the conflict.

Israel said it will continue to debate the issue. Previous debates have ended with no resolution.

Author: Matt Zuvela (AFP, dpa, Reuters)
Editor: Ben Knight