WASHINGTON--Rep. Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) Friday sharply criticized Turkey's hypocrisy in leveling human rights charges against Israel even as it continues to deny the Armenian Genocide and strengthen its ties to the genocidal Sudanese regime, reported the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA).

"If Turkey wants to move closer to the West it should practice some self-reflection on its own history regarding the Armenian Genocide and help to end the Genocide in Darfur,"   the Armenian Caucus Co-Chairman said Friday in a speech on the House floor.

Pallone called the attention of his colleagues to increasingly strident Turkish attacks on Israel, including menacing, even threatening, remarks by Prime Minister Erdogan, as well as a recent Washington Post report that a Turkey-based non-governmental organization has initiated a probe to investigate if war crimes and genocide were committed by Israel during the recent Gaza Conflict.

Commenting on these developments, he noted that, "For a nation that for 94 years has practiced wide-spread genocide denial of the killing of one and half million Armenians, hypocrisy runs deep today in Ankara."

The New Jersey legislator stressed that, "the Turkish people need to step back and question their skewed understanding of genocide. Look in the mirror, look at your own history, come to terms with the fact that 1.5 million Armenians died and when contemporary genocides, like Darfur, take place it must be denounced."

 He added that Turkey, rather than denouncing the Darfur Genocide, has actually strengthened its ties to Khartoum.

"Last year, Turkish President Abdullah Gul warmly welcomed Sudanese President Omar al- Bashir to Ankara," he said. " Yet, Al-Bashir continues to preside over a genocidal regime responsible for the deaths of 300,000 Sudanese people in the Darfur region of the country."