Singapore to sanction Israeli settler leaders, supports Palestine statehood
Singapore’s Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan, speaking in parliament, has chided those Israeli politicians who have spoken about annexing parts of the occupied 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.
“Ultimately, to resolve this longstanding 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 said.
US public opinion on Israel is changing, US policy will have to as well
The Zionist narrative has been a dominating force in the US for more than seven decades.
Promoted by powerful lobbies, nurtured by Christian evangelicals and echoed by mainstream media, it remained largely unchallenged until the outbreak of the genocide in Gaza.
In nearly two years, the unyielding images of horror, the scale of devastation and the shocking loss of human lives have created an indomitable record of horror that has challenged the Zionist narrative.
Poll after poll is registering a shift in public opinion vis-a-vis Israel. On both sides of the political divide, Americans are growing less enthusiastic about blanket support for the longstanding US ally. So what does this mean for US-Israeli relations?
