Israeli Knesset cancels vote on Armenian genocide recognition amid Azerbaijani pressure

A vote on recognizing the crimes against Armenians from 1915 as genocide will not take place. Azerbaijan is said to have exerted pressure.

Published: July 20, 2026, 6:14 PM

The plenary hall of the Knesset in Jerusalem. Photo: Ronen Zvulun/reuters

By Serena Bilanceri, Jerusalem

It is one of the most controversial chapters in the history of the Ottoman Empire – the genocide of the Armenian people. Germany and over two dozen other countries have already officially recognized these crimes as genocide. In Israel, this was supposed to happen at the state level during this legislative term.

At least, that was the declared will of the government. A resolution by Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar was officially adopted unanimously by the cabinet last June. The Israeli parliament, the Knesset, was then expected to vote on it. But suddenly, the topic has disappeared from the agenda.

According to the Israeli newspaper Ha’aretz, Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stopped the vote under pressure from high-ranking Azerbaijani officials. Corresponding inquiries from taz to the Foreign Ministry and the Azerbaijani embassy have so far gone unanswered.

An Israeli government spokesman merely referred to the government vote in June. According to Sa’ar, recognition has thus taken place, but at the state level, approval from the Knesset is also required. The Knesset is now not expected to decide on this until after the regular parliamentary elections on October 27 at the earliest.

Commemoration on April 24

The genocide of the Armenians was perpetrated by Ottoman soldiers and state officials at the beginning of the 20th century. An estimated one and a half to two million people are said to have died – through systematic deportations to Syria, death marches, targeted killings, and deportations to camps. Many Christian Armenians are also said to have been "forcibly Islamized." On April 24, the victims are commemorated in Armenia as well as in the Armenian diaspora.

Turkey still does not recognize the systematic expulsion and murder of the Armenians as genocide. Aligned with the government in Ankara is Armenia's neighbor Azerbaijan, which in turn is a close ally of Turkey.

In the final phase of the Soviet Union, a war broke out between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the Nagorno-Karabakh region, which ended in 1994 but repeatedly erupted in military confrontations in subsequent years. Under the mediation of the USA, both sides agreed on a bilateral declaration in 2025, but a permanent peace agreement is still pending.

According to Ha’aretz, Netanyahu stopped the vote in the Knesset after an advisor to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev contacted him. What the two discussed is unclear. However, the Israeli government is said to have subsequently informed Azerbaijan that the topic had been removed from the parliamentary agenda. Spokespersons for the Foreign Ministry have denied this account to the newspaper.

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