Armenian Genocide Recognition Pulled From Israeli Parliament Agenda – Reports

YEREVAN (Sputnik) - Speaker of the Israeli Knesset Yuli Edelstein on Monday pulled recognition of the genocide of the Armenian people from the parliament’s agenda, local media reported citing Edelstein’s spokeswoman.

According to the Jerusalem Post newspaper, the Knesset was expected to vote on recognizing the Armenian Genocide on Tuesday, but Edelstein, who stands for the recognition, decided not to discuss the issue because it was unclear whether the majority of lawmakers would vote in its favor.

The newspaper stressed that the recognition of the genocide might cause outrage of Turkey and Azerbaijan. The Israeli-Turkish relations have deteriorated with the mutual expulsion of envoys over the death of dozens of Palestinians in clashes with Israeli troops in the Gaza Strip.

According to different estimates, over 1 million Armenians were killed or starved to death by the Ottoman Empire during and after World War I. Turkey has repeatedly denied accusations of committing mass murder of Armenians, claiming that the victims of the tragedy were both Turks and Armenians.

Armenia insists on the recognition of the Armenian Genocide by the Ottoman Empire by the international community. The genocide has already been recognized by Russia, as well as by many EU countries.