Parliament to have full discussion of Israeli-Palestinian conflict, says PM Lee

RIYADH - Parliament will have a full discussion of Singapore’s position on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict when it next sits at the beginning of November, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said on Friday. 

A lot of questions have been filed in Parliament, he told Singapore reporters in an interview wrapping up his visit to Saudi Arabia, adding that Singaporeans were following developments very closely and MPs would express concerns of their constituents.

The ongoing Israel-Hamas war and growing humanitarian crisis in Gaza were a key concern raised by leaders of Asean and Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, including PM Lee, at their first-ever summit earlier on Friday.

Israel was poised to launch a ground offensive to root out the militant Hamas following its Oct 7 attack in the south of the country that killed at least 1,400 people.

In response, Israel has bombarded Gaza and killed at least 4,100 people while imposing a near-total blockade of the densely populated enclave with a population of 2.3 million.

“It’s always very worrying when you see a humanitarian crisis developing, when innocent civilians suffer… sometimes as a side effect of military conflict, sometimes directly targeted,” said PM Lee.

“In this case, what happened on Oct 7 when Hamas attacked Israel and launched vicious horrible attacks against large numbers of civilians… is horrendous, it isn’t something which could be justified by any rationale whatsoever.”

He added: “Whatever the background, whatever the historical situation, nothing justifies such an action, either in law, or indeed in human decency and morality. So that was what we have to be quite unequivocal about, and we came out immediately to condemn it.”

PM Lee also said that under international law, the Israelis have the right to defend themselves, adding that it was “humanly impossible” not to want to do so “having suffered such a grievous and terrifying attack”.

But in exercising that right, Israel has to comply with the law of war and international humanitarian law, to do all it can to minimise civilian casualties and address humanitarian concerns that are going to arise, he added.

“You have to do this not just because the law is written that way, but also because from Israel’s own interests, if you just respond emotionally, cathartically, but in a way which doesn’t help to solve the problem, you may get yourself into a much worse situation than you’re in,” he said.

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PM Lee added that this was something many countries are concerned about, and have spoken out about, including the Americans, the British and the Europeans.

He also made reference to a recent letter published in the Financial Times, in which a group of distinguished Jewish international jurists and professors of international law counselled Israel’s leaders to act in a restrained manner that will not worsen the problem or diminish humanity.

“It’s very significant that these are people who wish Israel well, who are expressing such concerns and such views. We wish Israel well, we also wish the Palestinians well,” he said.

Turning to Singapore, PM Lee noted that people are following ongoing events very closely.

In particular, Muslims are very agitated by developments as there is a certain feeling of empathy and compassion, closely felt, for the Palestinian cause. “It’s completely understandable,” he said. 

“At the same time, we also have to do what is the sensible thing for Singapore, to maintain relations with both the Israelis as well as the Palestinians, and to do what we can to provide humanitarian support for the civilian victims in Gaza especially, but also in Israel.” 

Singapore’s long-term position is clear – a two-state solution is the only way for both sides to live in peace.

This means Palestinians have to acknowledge that Israelis have a right to exist and to have a nation state and country, while Israelis have to acknowledge that the Palestinians have a right to exist and to live in their own country, said PM Lee.

He added that both parties have to work towards such an outcome and cannot afford to give up on this aspiration. 

“It looks very far off. It has not made a lot of progress in the last 10, 15 years,” he said.

“But unless you can make progress in that direction, you are doomed to generations of bloodshed and tragedy, and I don’t think either side really wants that.”

PM Lee was also asked about the impact of the ongoing crisis on Asean.

He noted that the different South-east Asian countries do not all have identical positions on the issue. 

Singapore has diplomatic relations with Israel, like some members, as well as a good relationship with the Palestinian Authority.

Others have championed the Palestinian cause and do not have diplomatic relations with Israel.

This means the nuances and the way different countries express their views will not be the same. 

But PM Lee noted that there was some degree of consensus on the crisis, as expressed in the Asean statement, adding that it was helpful to have such a stance. 

Asean foreign ministers on Friday issued a joint statement condemning all acts of violence and urging the unconditional release of civilian hostages as well as safe humanitarian passage.

Said PM Lee: “We have to understand we have different perspectives and, well, we get along and respect one another’s perspectives and also respect one another.”

This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.