Singapore to sanction Israeli settler leaders, supports Palestine statehood

SINGAPORE: Singapore said on Monday it will impose targeted sanctions on leaders of Israeli settler groups and would recognise a Palestine state under the right conditions.

AI Brief

Singapore plans targeted sanctions on Israeli settler leaders and urges Israel to stop settlement expansion.
Singapore says it will recognise Palestine as a state when there is an effective government that accepts Israel and rejects terrorism.
The country supports a two-state solution and has voted for UN recognition of Palestine, despite close ties with Israel.

Western and other nations have been taking an increasingly hard line against settler groups and some Israeli officials they accuse of fomenting violence, while global recognition is growing of Palestinians' aspiration for an independent homeland.

Singapore's Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan, speaking in parliament, chided those Israeli politicians who have spoken about annexing parts of the West Bank or Gaza, the two Israeli-occupied Palestinian territories.

"We call on the Israeli government to cease settlement construction and expansion," he said, citing the so-called E1 settlement project as fragmenting the West Bank.

"We oppose ongoing attempts to create new facts on the ground which undermine the prospects for a two-state solution."

More details on the sanctions would be released at a later date, he said.

Balakrishnan said it was a matter of when not if Singapore recognises a Palestinian state and that the nation is waiting for an "appropriate constellation" of factors, including a need for an effective Palestinian government that accepts Israel's right to exist and categorically renounces terrorism.

"Ultimately, to resolve this long-standing conflict in a comprehensive, just and durable manner, there needs to be a negotiated settlement which results in two states, one Israeli (and) one Palestinian, with their peoples living alongside each other in peace, security and dignity," he added.

Most of the international community considers Israeli settlements in the West Bank illegal under international law. Israel disputes this, citing historical and biblical ties to the area and saying the settlements provide security.

While Singapore and Israel have shared close diplomatic and military ties since the former gained independence in 1965, the city-state in 2024 voted in favour of numerous resolutions expressing support for U.N. recognition of a Palestinian state.