President Reuven Rivlin spoke at an annual memorial ceremony for the victims of the 1956 Kfar Kassem Massacre, becoming the first Israeli official to do so.
At the event, Rivlin called the massacre a "serious crime."
"A serious crime was done here, and when a serious crime is carried out, we should fix it," Rivlin stated. "The Supreme Court has spoken clearly on this issue and gave an expression of our moral truth."
"We must stare this horrible deed in the face," he continued.
The Kfar Kassem massacre took place in 1956. Border Police opened fire on Arab citizens of Israel who had violated a wartime curfew on their village, killing 48. However, it was revealed after the event that those killed had been unaware of the curfew.
Schools in the public school system are now instructed to commemorate the massacre each year and teach the need to disobey "immoral orders".
This is the first time that a sitting president participated in an official Israeli memorial in the village.
In doing so, Rivlin mentioned his uncle, Avraham Shapira, who visited Kfar Kassem in 1957 as a representative of the State and to seek forgiveness.
Rivlin also empathized with the community.
"I have come here to feel the pain of the memories of this massacre alongside you," Rivlin said. "This is an unusual and gloomy chapter in the history of relations between Arabs and Jews living here in Israel, that we rightfully and justly apologize for."