The Minister for Home Affairs and Law, K Shanmugam, recently addressed the conflict in the Middle East and expressed that Singaporeans can sympathize with how Palestinians have been treated over the years and still unequivocally condemn the terrorist attacks in Israel.
He was speaking to the media yesterday (12 October) after the Palestinian militant group Hamas attacked Israel on 7 October and killed hundreds, as well as taking in dozens of hostages.
Snippets of Shanmugam’s media interview
Our position on Israel-Palestine, and our support for the Two-State Solution is well known. It has been stated repeatedly.
My remarks on the current situation are directed primarily at the security issues, relating to Singapore.
And I will make two points in that context:Â
Possible to sympathise with Palestinians and still condemn terror attacks in Israel
One – in no circumstances can we accept any kind of terrorist attack. Hamas’ attack on Israel – attacking and massacring civilians is a massive terrorist attack.
The kidnapping and unjustified murder of children – the acts of cruelty are shocking, and horrifying. And this extreme violence must be condemned in clear, unequivocal terms.Â
It is possible to hold very strong views on what is happening in the region. It is possible to deplore how the Palestinians have been treated over the years.
It is possible to deeply sympathise with the plight of the Palestinians, and yet still unequivocally condemn the terrorist attacks carried out in Israel. These atrocities cannot be justified by any rationale whatsoever, whether of fundamental problems or historical grievances.Â
There is going to be a very severe reaction
The second point I am going to make is that there is going to be a very severe reaction. Israel is going to react with its full might.
We need to be clear about our stance – we condemn all acts of terrorism and wanton violence.
But we must not let these events happening externally affect the internal situation within Singapore.
We must, in Singapore, maintain our racial and religious peace.
We have to stay vigilant. Terrorist groups will exploit such conflicts. They have already issued calls for followers to join in a wider jihad against Israel. There have also been reports of anti-semitic incidents overseas.
Our position has been made very clear over the years.
We act against anyone who promotes or espouses extremism and violence.
S’poreans have been detained before under ISA
We have detained Singaporeans under the Internal Security Act because they fell for pro-Hamas narratives and wanted to fight. One was detained in March 2021 – he wanted to travel to Gaza to fight alongside Hamas, and he also planned a knife attack against Jews at a synagogue in Singapore.
A second person was detained in November last year – he also made plans to travel to Gaza to fight with Hamas, after watching videos online.Â
But we have also detained individuals who intended to attack Muslim targets in Singapore. For example, a boy who was detained in December 2020 – he made plans to conduct knife attacks against Muslims, at two mosques in Singapore. He was influenced by the Christchurch attack.
So far, we have managed to avoid letting international events like these, destabilise us within Singapore. This is going to be quite a tough period. But our fundamental attitude cannot change. We are all Singaporeans. We have a precious peace within Singapore, we must never let external events affect that.
Images source: Hareem Shah on X and K Shanmugam Facebook