Expert reacts to exchanges of tough rhetoric between Turkish, Israeli leaders
"Since October 7, we have faced many shameful incidents that have broken our hearts. Netanyahu and his government, as a result of the crimes against humanity they committed in the Gaza Strip, have earned their places alongside Hitler, Mussolini […] as today's Nazis," Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday.
In response, Netanyahu said, "Israel observes the laws of war and will not be subject to moral preaching from Erdogan, who supports murderers and rapists of the Hamas terrorist organization, denies the Armenian genocide, massacres Kurds in his own country, and cracks down on regime opponents and journalists."
Will the exchanges of tough rhetoric between Israel and Turkey entail geopolitical consequences and how likely is Israel to recognize the Armenian Genocide in the Ottoman Empire in 1915? Panorama.am reached out to orientalist Armen Petrosyan for comments on these issues on Thursday.
"This statement is just Turkey's response to Israel's policy in the Gaza Strip, nothing more. Turkey and Israel have ramped up their rhetoric and propaganda amid a fresh escalation of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. In other words, this is just a background process without any serious implications. In the past, too, when relations between Turkey and Israel deteriorated due to the Palestinian conflict, they accused each other of genocide,” the expert said.
“The Turkish authorities led by Erdogan accused the Netanyahu government of committing genocide in the Gaza Strip, and in response, the Israeli authorities voiced accusations against Ankara, stating: 'Someone who commits genocide in his country and is the successor of the genocidal empire is the last person who can preach morality to us.'"
Similarly, Petrosyan recalled that the U.S. administration recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and decided to move the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv there in 2018.
“During the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which intensified after Trump's decision on Jerusalem, Turkey again made the same accusations, while Israel gave a similar response. Moreover, then the Israeli Knesset began debates on a bill to recognize the Armenian Genocide, which was eventually rejected," he added.