Singapore will reconsider position on recognising Palestine state if situation deteriorates

SINGAPORE: Singapore will reconsider its position on recognising a Palestinian state if the situation continues to deteriorate, or if Israel takes further steps to extinguish a two-state solution, Minister for Foreign Affairs Vivian Balakrishnan said in parliament on Monday (Sep 22).

Singapore has always supported a negotiated two-state solution to the Israel-Palestinian conflict. 

"We will recognise the State of Palestine when it has an effective government that accepts Israel’s right to exist and categorically renounces terrorism," Dr Balakrishnan said in his ministerial statement.

This comes as Britain, Canada, Australia and Portugal recognised a Palestinian state on Sunday, in a move borne out of frustration over the Gaza war and intended to promote a two-state solution, prompting a furious response from Israel.

The decision by four nations from the West aligned them with more than 140 other countries also backing the Palestinians' aspiration to forge an independent homeland from the occupied territories.

Singapore will impose targeted sanctions on the leaders of radical right-wing settler groups or organisations responsible for acts of violence against Palestinians in the West Bank, said Dr Balakrishnan on Monday, adding that details will be announced at a later date.

Singapore has consistently held the view that Israeli settlements are illegal under international law, and has voted in support of United Nations (UN) resolutions that reject Israeli settlement activities and call on Israel to “rescind all unilateral measures” seeking to change the status of Jerusalem, he added. 

“We call on the Israeli government to cease settlement construction and expansion. We oppose ongoing attempts to create new facts on the ground which undermine the prospects for a two-state solution." 

Israel’s actions in Gaza have gone too far for too long, said Dr Balakrishnan.

“Israel’s military operations, which have recently intensified in Gaza City, have exacerbated the prolonged, desperate suffering of innocent civilians. This is unconscionable,” he said.

The scale of civilian death is “harrowing”, with more than 60,000 people reportedly killed, a third of them children. “Singapore condemns the killing of innocent civilians,” Dr Balakrishnan said.

The humanitarian situation in Gaza is “shocking”, the foreign affairs minister added, noting that Gaza is dangerously close to famine levels, which was “entirely preventable”.

“The deliberate and unlawful denial of humanitarian aid to a civilian population is completely unacceptable,” he added.

“In our view, these excessive actions by the Israeli government may even be a breach of international humanitarian law.”

Currently, the Palestinian Authority administers the Occupied Palestinian Territories in the West Bank, but does not control Gaza, said Dr Balakrishnan, noting that Hamas “violently seized” Gaza from the Palestinian Authority in June 2007.

There has not been a unified Palestinian government that exercises “effective control” in Palestinian territories, including both the West Bank and Gaza for the last 18 years at least, he added. “What will happen in Gaza after the ceasefire is unclear.”

Hamas has also consistently rejected Israel’s right to exist, said the foreign affairs minister, adding that it has yet to renounce terrorism or agree to disarm.

Singapore enjoys good relations with the Palestinian Authority, and welcomes its commitment to renounce terrorism, carry out reforms and disarm Hamas, said Dr Balakrishnan.

Singapore has also “consistently” affirmed the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination and their own state, as seen in the country’s voting record at the UN, he noted.

“However, it remains to be seen whether the Palestinian Authority can really disarm and displace Hamas from Gaza.”

So far, Singapore has maintained its position while doing as much as it can to help the Palestinian Authority strengthen its capabilities, he added.

“Singapore’s support for a two-state solution means that we will oppose any steps by Israel to extinguish or undermine such a solution,” said the minister.

“Singapore cannot recognise any unilateral annexation of occupied territory because this would be a flagrant breach of international law.”

Singapore will contribute more to international efforts to alleviate civilian suffering in Gaza, said Dr Balakrishnan, noting that Singapore has contributed 10 tranches of humanitarian aid, bringing the total humanitarian assistance to more than S$24 million.

In the 10th tranche, Singapore will support Egyptian hospitals treating injured Palestinians. A team of Singaporean doctors and clinicians is currently in Cairo to support the Nasser Institute in case consultations, and the Singapore Armed Forces has deployed two liaison officers in Cairo to coordinate Singapore’s assistance in-theatre. 

Singapore is working to deploy another medical team there when the conditions are conducive, he added.

Under Jordan’s Restoring Hope Initiative for Gaza, Singapore will provide prosthetic supplies for about 100 Palestinian amputees being treated in Jordan and at Jordanian field hospitals in Gaza.

Singapore will also contribute US$500,000 to the World Food Programme’s efforts to fight hunger in Gaza, said the foreign affairs minister.

Concluding his speech, Dr Balakrishnan noted that territorial and political compromise is essential “if this conflict is ever to be resolved”.

“The Israeli people and Palestinian people both exist as an objective reality. Both have claims to a sovereign state in their ancestral homeland. There can be no ‘river-to-the sea’ for either side, because if you really tried to effect that, some terrible consequences follow from that, logically,” he added.

“As a friend to the people on both sides, we can only hope that in time, there will be the political will, there will be inspired leadership on both sides to enter into direct negotiations on a two-state solution, consistent with the relevant UNSC (UN Security Council) resolutions.”