A HUMANITARIAN catastrophe in Gaza is the result of Israel’s reprisal to the October 7 attack by Hamas terrorists. Over 30,000 Palestinians — mostly civilians — have been killed. For the people remaining, the West Bank is a ruined place of famine and fear.
“Israel’s military response has gone too far. The catastrophic situation in Gaza demands an immediate humanitarian ceasefire to alleviate the unbearable suffering of the civilian victims and to enable humanitarian assistance to reach them immediately,” said Minister for Foreign Affairs Vivian Balakrishan on Day 2 (Feb 29) of the Committee of Supply (COS) debates.
This is Singapore’s unequivocal and principled response to the ongoing tragedy unfolding in the Middle East at present. Here are five other important pieces of information that all Singaporeans need to know about the situation
1. Singapore is giving a third tranche of humanitarian aid
“I spoke to the Jordanian Foreign Minister last night. We have agreed that we will do a third tranche of aid for Gaza and this time we will work through Jordan,” said Minister Vivian at the COS debates.
Source: MINDEF / Facebook
This third tranche follows Singapore’s end-2023 deliveries of life-saving aid for Gazans. A Singapore Armed Forces medical team is presently on board a French navy ship to treat injured Gazans.
2. Singapore works towards a functioning Palestinian state
These aid efforts are concurrent to Singapore’s ongoing $10 million assistance package for the Palestinian Authority, which is the civilian government currently governing the West Bank.
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, Senior Minister Teo Chee Hean, Second Minister for Foreign Affairs Maliki Osman and Minister Vivian have visited Ramallah on multiple occasions to meet their Palestinian counterparts. These visits continue despite this latest crisis.
“We do all this because we look forward to the day when there’s peace and that there is a functioning, capable Palestinian state and that the Palestinian people get the peace and progress which they so richly deserve,” said Minister Vivian, who also reminded Parliament that Singapore welcomed the proclamation of a Palestinian state back in 1988.
3. Keeping diplomatic lines of communication open is good during times of tension
Singapore can contribute internationally because we keep our diplomatic channels of communication open.
“We don’t agree with everything that every counterpart in Israel and the Arab countries say. But they listen to us, they respect our positions, they work with us to deliver assistance. And mind you, even for the delivery of humanitarian assistance we will need to work with Israel,” said Minister Vivian.
Here, the Leader of the Opposition Pritam Singh concurs with our logic on the importance of having diplomatic communication with another party. Asked by Mr Vivian on his party’s position, Mr Singh says he agrees with the Government’s policy of not breaking diplomatic ties with Israel, adding that he would “rather be in communication with a party, rather than not be in communication with a party’’.
In fact, the ability to have respectful and open communication with all sides in the Middle East was difficult to achieve. But achieve it we did over the years, and now Singapore can contribute effectively when delivering humanitarian aid to Palestinians.
4. Religion is a veneer over the very localised key conflicts
The key conflict in the Middle East is over land, identity and power.
Source: Mastamak/ Getty Images
“This is an issue that goes back a very long time. And in fact, not just by tradition, and not just because they all claim Abraham as their father. But even the latest genetic data. The Israelis and Palestinians are both Semitic tribes, who have been fighting over the same sliver of land for such a long time,” said Minister Vivian.
This conflict, in other words, is a very localised one.
“It’s not possible for outsiders like us — no matter how we feel, or don’t feel about them, and their identity and their culture and their religion — it’s not possible for Singaporeans to decide or to determine who is right or who has a stronger historical claim,” said Minister Vivian.
5. The Government will not let a foreign conflict undermine the core interests of Singaporeans
Many Singaporeans are feeling very deep and real emotions over the Israel-Hamas conflict. These deserve validating. At the same time, Singapore’s foreign policy cannot shift with the winds of foreign conflict.
“Our foreign policy must be based on understanding our core interests and acting consistently. In accordance with the principles that safeguard our independence, our sovereignty, our territorial integrity and our security,” said Minister Vivian.
This stance has worked, and will continue working for Singaporeans, even while having space for compassion and an acknowledgment of our shared humanity. It is a realistic approach to geopolitics which is principle-based, constructive and suited for the diversity internal and external to Singapore.
