Of course I have an opinion about the ongoing Hamas-Israel conflict, and the dispute over the Gaza Strip and the Palestine Territories. I have very strong opinions about them. I'm just not saying it out loud on social media because anything said in that sphere is inflammatory and offensive to all sorts of people.
To me, these opinions on the matters of Hamas-Israel and Palestine-Israel are as divisive as people voicing support for Republicans and their policies, especially their anti-abortion push. Religion is the biggest elephant in the room. If anyone starts preaching to advocate any sort of religious tenets, I react unpleasantly. I prefer to keep my conversations secular unless I know you very well. I do shut people down in social conversations the moment we touch these subjects, and I take immense pleasure to especially shut down people at family gatherings who do this. (Not that I attend many of those, but people without a brain cell or love rumor-mongering have come to dread my presence. Ha.)
Not everyone is an academic. Not everyone will be able to discuss this from a historical point of view or debate via a neutral political science analysis. It inevitably dengenerates into a 'I-think, I-believe, it-must, it-should' argument. Which is circular, moot and utterly pointless. Or best, 'I show you the videos and photos'. Suddenly, everyone is an investigative journalist, a photojournalist in a war zone or a military attorney.
I'm just glad that our schools are going to facilitate conversations and have the students read about the long and complicated history between Palestine and Israel, between Hamas and Zionists. This isn't an issue you could summarize off of social media 'information' without educating ourselves about the turning points, the agreements and the Six-Day War in 1967 and the Yom Kippur War in 1973. And we also must not ignore what's going on in Iran, Lebanon, Yemen and Syria, and well, Afghanistan. A nation's pride is an entirely different basket of snakes compared to a civilian family's pride and reputation.
At the Parliamentary Sitting on November 6, 2023, our Foreign Minister outlined seven principles which have underpinned Singapore's response to what he has described as an "unfolding tragedy", a phrase that has been written into all our politicians' speeches.
1. Zero tolerance approach towards terrorism
2. Legitimate and inherent right to defend themselves
3. Principles of necessity and proportionality in exercising right of self-defence
4. Immediate humanitarian assistance to civilian population needed
5. A negotiated two-state solution is the only viable solution
6. External events must not divide Singaporeans
7. Ensuring the safety of Singaporeans abroad
Singapore is this tiny. We must put our own self-interests ahead first, and not align with anyone based on geographical proximity or be pressured to. Singapore would be wise to go neutral and focus on humanitarian efforts and the call to avoid civilian casualties. But to what extent can we do that? Who are we calling 'terrorist' and branding their acts as 'terrorism'?
All I can say is, at some point, when does the legitimate right to defend your sovereignty, citizens and land and the right to retaliate with military might end, and genocide begins? What would it take to stop this current war? How many dead Israelis and Palestinians would it take to satisfy both sides? I'll reiterate, religion is the biggest elephant in the room. I condemn what Hamas did to Israeli civilians. I equally condemn Israel's (the civilians have no choice, the Israeli far-right government is leading the way) ten-fold punitive retaliation on innocent Palestinian civilians. This is my stand.
Our DPM/Finance Minister/PM-designate released a statement too, on November 6's Parliamentary Sitting. He urged Singaporeans to stand united and not take sides in this matter. Haizzzz. Sure. If there isn't vested family interest in it. He advocates us to put aside emotionally charged opinions to consider our national self-interest above all. We must. Singapore can't afford internal ethnic or racial strife.
We are friends with both Israel and the Palestinians. But it doesn't mean we support everything each side does. Instead, we consistently take a principled position, in line with international law and in support of global peace and security. On that basis, we have voted in favour of many Palestinian-related resolutions at the UN over the years. For example, we have criticised Israel's settlement activities in the West Bank as violations of international law. We also voted against Jerusalem being recognised as the capital of Israel.
Such unilateral moves by Israel detract from the two-state solution. That is partly the reason why more and more Palestinians feel that violence is the only way to achieve their goals. The international community must therefore give Palestinians reasons to think otherwise. A nonviolent path to an independent Palestinian state must be made unmistakably clear. Then the ideas of organisations like Hamas and its belief in the use of violence and terrorism can truly be defeated. In all that we do, Singapore will act in accordance with our national interest, and that means consistently choosing principles and international law. That is what makes a small nation like us a credible and reliable and trusted partner on the international stage.
