Pro-Israeli lobby behind US 'genocide' bill, report says

Source: PressTV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=120190&sectionid=3510203


Pro-Israeli lobbyists threw their weight behind a US congressional resolution which held Turkey responsible for "genocide" of the Armenians during the World War I, a report says.

The lobbyists stepped in, in response to Turkey's condemnation of the Israeli suppression of the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported.

The House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee on Thursday approved the resolution, which backed the claim that 1.5 million Armenian's had been killed as Armenia's then-Turkish rulers were losing power.

Ankara, however, argues that 300,000 to 500,000 Armenians and at least as many Turks died in what was a civil strife when Armenians rose up against the Turkish Empire and sided with the invading Russian troops.

The vote triggered protests across Turkey, which called back its ambassador to the United States for consultation.