Shanmugam Lays Out Singapore's Approach to Helping Palestinians

It is working to ease Gaza situation, assist Palestinian Authority with capacity building

- Samuel Devaraj

Singapore has been contributing in various ways to alleviate the situation in Gaza, and plans are underway to do more to help the Palestinians, said Home Affairs Minister K. Shanmugam on Sept 2.

While the city state's efforts may not make the headlines, this is serious work compared with performative actions such as cutting off diplomatic ties, he added.

Speaking at the Middle East Institute's annual conference at Orchard Hotel, Mr Shanmugam also said the Republic's foreign policy has to be consistent, realistic and made with a "non-emotional calibration".

Responding to a question about calls for Singapore to take a stronger stance against Israel, even breaking off relations to express its disapproval, Mr Shanmugam said the city state has made it clear several times that Israel's response to the attack on Oct 7, 2023, by Hamas has gone too far.

"Many, including I, think that history will probably be harsh in its judgment of Israel's actions," he said. "To think that there can be a complete solution through force of arms, that doesn't require a just solution. I'm not sure that that will bring about any lasting solution."

He also reiterated Prime Minister Lawrence Wong's May 30 remarks that Israel's actions mean it has likely breached international humanitarian law.

Besides "just reading words", Singapore has delivered nine tranches and over $20 million of humanitarian assistance to Gaza, including through airdrops by the Republic of Singapore Air Force. Within Asean, this makes the Republic among the top contributors of aid to Gaza in absolute terms, he added.

Singapore is also working with partners such as the United Nations to help with capacity building for the Palestinian Authority, said Mr Shanmugam.