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Ynetnews, Israel Aug 1 2016 Knesset committee recognizes Armenian genocide After years of Israel's refusal to recognize Armenian genocide which claimed more than 1 million lives, Knesset committee says 'It is our moral obligation to recognize the holocaust of the Armenian nation.' Jonathan Benedek/TPS|Published: 01.08.16 , 23:13 The Education, Culture and Sports Committee decided to recognize the Armenian genocide on Monday at a meeting initiated by Meretz Chairwoman MK Zehava Galon. “It is our moral obligation to recognize the holocaust of the Armenian nation,” said the committee’s chairman and Shas MK Yaakov Margi. The declaration by the committee represents a symbolic and important change in light of Israel’s maintenance hitherto of a policy to refrain from officially recognizing the Armenian genocide in which approximately 1.5 million Armenians were reportedly massacred by Ottoman Turkish forces during World War I. Israel has previously abstained from recognizing the genocide in order to avoid potential negative repercussions on its relationship with Turkey. Israel signed a reconciliation agreement with the country last month following a strain in bilateral relations since the summer of 2010. Nevertheless, MK Margi called upon Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein to follow through on remarks he made last year at a committee meeting during which he said that he would work to have the Knesset formally recognize the Armenian genocide. “I will try to promote the issue and I hope that MKs will know the right way to vote at the moment of truth,” Edelstein said in July 2015. “I visited one of the Armenian memorial sites and it is very hard to ignore what I saw there,” he continued . “I expect that I, and the Knesset, act appropriately so that we can make decisions according to the moral standards of a democratic state.” MK Galon also lamented Israel’s continued failure to recognize the Armenian genocide. “Each year we instill false hope in the people sitting here,” said Galon. “It is a disservice to the Knesset to continue going on and on about this issue, year after year, without reaching a decision that the State of Israel and the Knesset recognize the genocide of the Armenian people.” Georgette Avakian, chairwoman of the Armenian National Committee in Jerusalem, echoed the remarks made by Margi and Galon. “The Knesset and the president of the State of Israel must recognize the genocide of our people,” she insisted. https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.ynetnews.com_articles_0-2C7340-2CL-2D4836080-2C00.html&d=DQIFaQ&c=clK7kQUTWtAVEOVIgvi0NU5BOUHhpN0H8p7CSfnc_gI&r=LVw5zH6C4LHpVQcGEdVcrQ&m=vcx0oi6Br1-fuXM7Zsg2z1lViQHSr-T9RJQps4Qb7_o&s=uQSmJuLVQJbJ7RMzmHUfcgPj2N9Utbjsp56YmISVRA8&e=

Varuzhan Avetisyan: We did not kill policeman 22:32, 31.07.2016 YEREVAN. – Varuzhan Avetisyan, a member of the armed group Sasna Tsrer said that it was not the members of the group who killed the policeman Yuri Tepanosyan. “I declare with all responsibility that it was not us who killed the police officer. That area is even not visible for us. In all likelihood, he was killed by one of the chaotic shots of their own snipers. I do not want to say that this was done deliberately, but I can say for certain that it was not us who did it,” said Avetisyan. In its turn, the police issued a statement that Yuri Tepanosyan, born in 1986, was killed by “a sniper's bullet, fired from the territory of the captured regiment. http://news.am/eng/news/339824.html

http://a57.foxnews.com/images.foxnews.com/content/fox-news/world/2016/07/31/armenia-barricaded-gunmen-deny-killing-police-officer/_jcr_content/par/featured-media/media-0.img.jpg/876/493/1469962085751.jpg?ve=1&tl=1 A riot police officer installs barbed wire as others block the street towards the Presidential Residence to prevent a march of anti-government protesters, supporters of the armed group who have been holed inside a police station, in Yerevan, Armenia, Saturday, July 30, 2016. Armed members of an opposition group barricaded inside a police station in Armenia's capital shot an officer dead on Saturday, police said. (Hrant Khachatryan/PAN Photo via AP) (The Associated Press) Next YEREVAN, Armenia – Armed members of an opposition group barricaded inside a police station in Armenia's capital have denied killing a police officer. Varuzhan Avetisyan, a leading member of the group, said Sunday that police were wrong in accusing them of shooting the officer on Saturday, a killing that came amid heightened tensions in the two-week standoff. Police said the officer was in a vehicle 400 meters (yards) from the station when he was hit by sniper fire. The group of about 30 gunmen killed one officer and wounded several others when seizing the Yerevan police station on July 17 to demand freedom for their leader, who was arrested in June. Security forces have since wounded eight of the gunmen, including three shot in the legs on Friday, apparently by sniper fire.