Haaretz: Azerbaijan blocked Knesset genocide vote

PanARMENIAN.Net - The Israeli government's June decision to recognize the Armenian Genocide was not submitted to the Knesset for a vote because of pressure from Azerbaijan, Haaretz reported, citing an Israeli source.

According to the newspaper's source, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu blocked the vote initiated by Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar after Azerbaijani presidential adviser Hikmet Hajiyev contacted the Israeli prime minister's office, Factor.am reported.

Haaretz said that following those contacts, the Israeli government informed the Azerbaijani side that the issue had been removed from the Knesset's agenda and therefore would not be included among the votes scheduled before the summer recess.

Responding to Haaretz's inquiry, Gideon Sa'ar's office denied that the vote had been canceled because of Netanyahu's intervention but did not explain why the proposal had not been brought before the Knesset.

"There is a government decision [to recognize the genocide], and it was approved unanimously. It will not be changed, and this is an important and historic fact," Sa'ar's statement said.

The article, citing sources familiar with the matter, said Azerbaijan's position was conveyed to Israeli officials, after which the initiative was halted and effectively "buried." According to the same source, additional steps were also taken to prevent the proposal from being revived in the future.

Haaretz also reported that although the issue was not brought to a Knesset vote, Azerbaijan sent another signal last week that could indicate a cooling of relations with Israel. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev received Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa in Baku. According to a statement issued by the Azerbaijani presidential administration, Azerbaijan reaffirmed its support for the establishment of a Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital. In the English-language version of the statement, the city was referred to as "Al-Quds al-Sharif," the traditional Arabic name for Jerusalem. The statement also noted that Azerbaijan continues to support Palestinians, including through UNRWA, and plans to build a secondary school in the West Bank.

The newspaper recalled that in recent years Israel has regarded Baku as one of its key regional and international partners. During the war between Armenia and Azerbaijan, Israel supplied weapons to Azerbaijan. After the outbreak of hostilities, Haaretz reported an increase in flights by Azerbaijani cargo aircraft to Ovda Airbase near Eilat. In 2023, a Haaretz investigation reported that Azerbaijan was importing Israeli weapons through Ovda, while CNN later reported that Israel had deployed special forces to Azerbaijan during the latest war for operations directed against Iran.

Neither Benjamin Netanyahu's office nor Azerbaijani presidential adviser Hikmet Hajiyev responded to Haaretz's requests for comment.

The newspaper also recalled that last year Netanyahu acknowledged the Armenian Genocide during a podcast with conservative American businessman Patrick Bet-David. Responding to Bet-David's surprise that Israel had not officially recognized the Armenian Genocide, Netanyahu said he believed "the Knesset had passed a resolution on the issue."

In fact, Haaretz noted, the Knesset has not officially recognized the Armenian Genocide to date, although it has held several discussions on the subject since 2011.

In June, the Azerbaijani government officially condemned Israel's decision to recognize the Armenian Genocide and called for it to be reconsidered. Azerbaijan's Foreign Ministry said the recognition distorted the historical facts surrounding the events of 1915 and turned a complex historical issue into a political decision without a solid legal or scholarly basis.