A Singapore-based advocacy group, Lepak Conversations, put forward a letter to the Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr. Vivian Balakrishnan to urge the expedition of Singapore’s recognition of Palestinian statehood on 8 October 2024.
In a relatively unprecedented outpour of collective support on international affairs in Singapore, the letter garnered 64 signatories: among them are key organizations and associations, 2 former PAP Members of Parliament Zainal Sapari and Dr Intan Azura Mokhtar, 5 former Nominated Members of Parliament Dr Kanwaljit Soin; Anthea Ong; Braema Mathi; Dr Geh Min; and Kok Heng Leun, academics, authors, and actors.
The full letter can be accessed here.
After 15 days without a response from the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Lepak Conversations turned to the Singaporean public.
On 23 October, a petition was launched for Singaporeans to show their support for the recognition of Palestinian statehood by Singapore, and for expedition of the diplomatic process. At the time of writing, the Change.org petition has gained over 5,000 signatures, only 4 days after its launch on 23 October 2024.
The request to expedite Singapore’s recognition of the State of Palestine comes 3 months after Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr. Vivian Balakrishnan’s statement during a parliament sitting on 2 July 2024, in which he said Singapore is “prepared in principle to recognise the State of Palestine,” a move that will be made “at an appropriate time.”
“Our vote at the United Nations General Assembly means that Singapore is prepared in principle to recognise the State of Palestine. We will make this move at an appropriate time. Our key consideration is that such a move on our part should help progress towards peace and a negotiated two-state solution. In particular, there will need to be an effective Palestinian government that accepts Israel’s right to exist and categorically rejects terrorism. Both sides have legitimate rights, and both peoples have a right to live in peace and dignity within secure borders. We urge both sides to seize the moment to take steps towards a long-lasting peace and put an end to the suffering that has gone on for too long. Ultimately, Israelis and Palestinians need to exercise leadership and will have to work together to forge a better future for their peoples. As Singapore is a friend to both, Singapore will continue to offer our encouragement and tangible support to both Palestinians and Israelis.” – Singapore’s Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan
The Minister was responding to questions filed by MPs Zhulkarnain Adul Rahim and Mariam Jaafar from the People’s Action Party (PAP), Gerald Giam Yean Song and Muhamad Faisal Manap from the Worker’s Party (WP), and NCMP Leong Mun Wai from the Progress Singapore Party (PSP).
These questions expressed various concerns about Singapore’s position on recommendations by the United Nations (UN) Security Council to grant the State of Palestine full UN membership, the establishment of full diplomatic relations with Palestine, and Singapore’s role in aiding the Palestine-Israel peace process and the reconstruction of Gaza. Singapore was among 143 out of 193 members of the UN General Assembly on May 10 who voted in favour of the resolution to grant Palestine UN Membership.
The Minister’s statement in July included that Singapore will continue its engagement with the Palestinian Authority, which includes the S$10 million Enhanced Technical Assistance Package (ETAP) and its training of officials in government and public service expertise. To date, 750 officials have been trained, and three Palestinian officials have been awarded scholarships for postgraduate studies in Singaporean universities.
In response to questions by PAP MP Christopher de Souza, Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan also stated in a 7 August 2024 parliamentary sitting that “Singapore views the Israeli settlements as illegal under international law. These settlements make it much harder to arrive at a viable two-state solution.”
Singapore’s longstanding position on Israeli settlements has been clear and consistent. Singapore views the Israeli settlements as illegal under international law. These settlements make it much harder to arrive at a viable two-state solution. Singapore has consistently voted in support of UN General Assembly resolutions that reject Israeli settlement activities and call upon Israel to rescind all unilateral measures that have been taken to change the status of Jerusalem.
Efforts for the Recognition of Palestinian Statehood Intensifying Internationally
The letter and online petition by Lepak Conversations come at a time where efforts to recognize Palestinian statehood have been accelerating and intensifying internationally.
Across Europe, Asia, Latin America, and Africa for the past year, states and governments have affirmed their recognition of Palestine through various means that include the establishment of free trade with the Palestinian Authority which governs the West Bank, cooperating with resolutions to admit Palestine as a full member of the UN, and embedding the issue of Palestine in their national diplomacy.
In response to international war crimes, mass civilian casualties and large scale-bombings perpetrated by Israel on Palestinian civilians, hospitals, schools, civilian homes, water sites, and public infrastructure in Gaza and in the West Bank, other UN Member States are enforcing sanctions on illegal Israeli settlements, politicians, and individuals. Several countries have suspended or are breaking diplomatic ties with Israel, as is the case with South Africa and Colombia.
Spain, Norway, Ireland, and Slovenia are among European Union (EU) nations that have formally recognized Palestine statehood.
Ireland’s government in particular is seeking to limit trade with Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian Territories at the national level, says Foreign Affairs Minister Michael Martin. Ireland’s Occupied Territories Bill responds to the International Court of Justice’s (ICJ) ruling on July 19, 2024, the UN’s highest court, which declared Israel’s occupation of the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, as unlawful and that countries are obligated to refuse to recognise illegal Israeli changes to the territory.
To date, the State of Palestine is recognized by at least 146 countries in the world, with the official date of recognition by each country recorded by the Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Source: Al Jazeera – May 28, 2024
Shifting tides in countries’ political and diplomatic relations with Israel
Reflecting shifting international tides in political and diplomatic relations with Israel and Netanyahu’s government, France is halting arms deliveries to Israel for use in Gaza, and is enforcing a ban for the second time on Israeli companies from participating in an arms fair in France. This has led to reprisals from Israel, whose foreign minister Israel Katz announced he is taking “legal and diplomatic measures” against the decision made by the French President Emmanuel Macron.
In the wake of the ongoing regionalization of the conflict, a French conference on aid to Lebanon has raised $1 billion in humanitarian aid and funding for Lebanese security forces, wherein France has pledged €100 million package to support Lebanon. President Emmanuel Macron said “massive aid” was needed to support the country where war between Hezbollah militants and Israel has displaced a million people, killed over 2,500 and deepened an economic crisis.
French aid to Lebanon follows the regionalization and dramatic escalation of the conflict, wherein two mass device explosions in Lebanon and Syria on 17 and 18 September are widely believed to be perpetrated by Israel. Pagers used by hundreds of members of the paramilitary group Hezbollah exploded simultaneously, killing 12 people – including two young children – and wounding thousands. Detonations were triggered again in the capital city Lebanon, Beirut, where 25 people were killed and 600 wounded. Doctors stated that the injuries were mainly to the eyes and hands, causing amputations and permanent vision loss. Hezbollah is a political party and military group driven by its opposition to Israel, and is an ally to the Palestinian political organization and armed group Hamas that is currently at war with Israel.
In October, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the United Kingdom is considering sanctioning two Israeli politicians, in response to Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich’s comments that starving civilians in Gaza might be justified and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir’s remarks that perpetrators of settler violence in the Israeli-occupied West Bank were heroes.
Members of the Israeli government show open support for extremist settlers who enact violence on Palestinians and destruction to their communities, land, and property.
International Community Concerned about Israel’s Commitment to a Two-State Solution
Rhetoric from government authorities in Israel in the past year have led many in the international community to question Israel’s intentions for the besieged Gaza territory. The Israeli Minister of Settlements and National Missions Orit Strook stated in February 19 that “this land is ours, for the Israeli people, and for us only.” On October 22, Israel’s Minister for Social Equalities and Likud MP May Golan was quoted saying “what the Arabs should get today is a second Nakba”.
Nakba, or “Al Nakba”, literally translates as “The Catastrophe”. It refers to the mass exodus and ethnic cleansing of at least 750,000 Arabs from Palestine in 1948 and Israel’s military occupation of the Palestinian territories.
Ultra-nationalist, far-right Israeli ministers, politicians, and settlers have pushed the idea of expanding Israel’s territory with the concept of “Greater Israel”. In a recent interview for the documentary In Israel: Ministers of Chaos, Israel’s Chief Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich claimed that Israel would eventually encompass all of the occupied Palestinian territories as well as Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt, Syria, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia , which was condemned by Jordan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs for its dangerous and ‘racist’ ideology.
As early as May 2023, Smotrich was condemned by Arab states for displaying a map of “Greater Israel” which encompassed Gaza, the West Bank, and present-day Jordan in an event in Paris, during which he engaged in speech that expressed contempt for Arabs.
At present, the Palestinian civil defence has been forced to suspend operations in northern Gaza as a result of Israeli attacks on its emergency teams and all hospitals in the region – including the Indonesian, Al-Adwa, and Kamal Adwan hospitals. Jabalia refugee camp, which is situated within a U.N. school, has also been demolished by IDF forces.
400,000 people remain in the besieged northern Gaza region without humanitarian services, water or food supplies, and there are reports of mass detentions of Palestinian men by Israeli forces at gunpoint around the destroyed Kamal Adwan Hospital, separating them from their families and instructing women and children to flee to the south. Observers have noted that this is despite claims from the Israeli military 5 months ago that their troops have completed their combat operations and withdrawn.
In March 2024, the UN reported that there are “reasonable grounds to believe” that Israel’s actions in the occupied Palestinian Territories constitute the crime of genocide. Since October 7, 2023, the Gaza death toll nears 42,800 and over 100,400 Palestinians have been injured.
Israel’s military targets have spread across the region in recent months and dramatically escalated conflict, striking capital cities and densely-populated civilian areas. It has intensified its bombing campaign on Lebanon, which has destroyed or damaged 3,600 buildings in Lebanon between 2 and 14 October 2024. In Beirut, Lebanon’s capital city, an Israeli air strike killed 18 people – including 4 children – near the city’s largest public hospital. Israel has launched air strikes into the capital city of Damascus, Syria, which killed one soldier and injured seven others, and other residential buildings in the country.
Lepak Conversations’ Letter is in line with Singapore’s Commitment to Peace and Negotiated Two-State Solution
In the 8 October letter to Minister for Foreign Affairs Vivian Balakrishnan, Lepak Conversations expressed appreciation for Singapore’s goal of advancing peace in the Middle East and the country’s thoughtful approach to diplomacy.
The letter points out key reasons for Singapore’s recognition of Palestinian statehood, including that the recognition of the State of Palestine would be in line with Singapore’s stated commitment to international law and justice, advancing the long-term goal of the two-state solution, and is consistent with Singapore’s diplomatic stance.
While it urges for the expedition of Singapore’s recognition of Palestine, the letter does not make reference to sanctions or embargoes. Rather, it requests Singapore to formally and diplomatically join over 140 nations in recognizing Palestinian statehood and advance on the obligations and commitments that Singapore has already articulated.
The letter is also an opportunity for Singapore to act measuredly and decisively on its obligations as a UN Member state, according to the recent ICJ ruling on Israel’s unlawful occupation of Palestinian territories.
Comments on the petition express that their reasons for supporting the recognition of Palestinian statehood reflect Singapore’s values, international position, and what they wish to see in Singapore’s diplomatic approach:
“I want our Singapore Government which has taught us to be a caring society to take the lead when other world leaders do not and show that Singapore wants the genocide of Palestinians to stop! Also I want Dr Vivian to reply and for our Government to stand and work with its people to help us heal and to know that there is hope in humanity. We want a Government with a heart!”
“I believe in humanity and that as a small state that heavily relies on international laws to safeguard our sovereignty, we should be proactive in upholding it and supporting countries that are under apartheid and take action against genocide perpetrators.”
Included in the online petition is a quote from former NMP Anthea Ong, who says:
“[Singaporeans] have thrived as a people because our statehood was not denied of us in the last 59 years. I wish the same for the Palestinian people sooner rather than later.”
Please take a moment to sign the public petition at this link – https://www.change.org/p/join-these-singaporeans-in-asking-singapore-to-recognise-the-state-of-palestine .
More from Wake Up Singapore:-
Singaporeans who visited Al-Aqsa Mosque in June 2024 share how they were treated by IDF soldiers
‘Palestine, We See You’ – Yale-NUS Students show solidarity with Palestine during convocation
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