Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu (left) with his son, Yair

Support for Genocide bill mounts in the Israeli Knesset
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s son, Yair, took to Facebook to accuse Israel’s long-time ally Turkey of being guilty of committing the Armenian Genocide, not that two countries’ relations have been at their worst since Ankara expelled Israel’s ambassador after the latter attacked Palestinians in Gaza this week.

“Turkey, you are responsible for incredible atrocities and sufferings in Cyprus, actions against Greeks and Kurds, as well as the Armenian Genocide,” Yair Netanyahu wrote on his Facebook page, saying that Turks are illegally occupying present-day Turkey, which was inhabited by Christians before their invasion.

Yair Netanyahu’s Instagram post

Yair Netanyahu also posted a graphic on his Instagram feed the simply said “F*#ck Turkey.” The prime minister’s associates called him a private citizens with not ties to the government, according to Haaretz.

Meanwhile, a resolution recognizing the Armenian Genocide, introduced Wednesday by the Zionist Party is gaining momentum, with the Israeli press reporting that some 50 of the 120 in the Israeli legislature—the Knesset—voicing support for its passage.

The bill was submitted following Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s statements against Israel, and has received endorsements from Likud, Zionist Camp, Habayit Hayehudi, Meretz, and Shas parties in the Knesset.

Zionist Party Knesset member ItzikShmuli’s bill states that the Knesset will officially recognize the Armenian genocide and will mark it on a special annual day. In addition, the bill seeks that Israel also officially recognize the massacre of the Assyrian population, which was also perpetrated by the Turks during the First World War. Some 300,000 were killed by the Turks in that massacre.