Assoc Prof Faishal said Singapore’s parliament first discussed the matter on Nov 6, 2023, when it condemned the terrorist attacks by Hamas and its actions on Oct 7, 2023. Palestinian militant group Hamas’ attack on Israel triggered the current war in Gaza, which has gone on for nearly two years.
The situation has evolved with Israel’s actions “disproportionate and unacceptable”, Assoc Prof Faishal said, noting the “horrifying” bombardment of Gaza, and the widespread starvation.
“The Palestinians, including women and children, have to risk their lives in an active war zone just to get food. More than 1,000 have already been killed in violent, chaotic food distributions,” he said.
He called the forced displacement of Palestinians “morally reprehensible” and an “offence against humanity”.
He noted that 1.9 million Palestinians have had to flee their homes since the war began, and more than 750,000 since the ceasefire in March.
“Yet the Israeli government has chosen to compound this tragedy by moving ahead with settlement projects in the West Bank. These are illegal under international law.
“By any yardstick, the actions by Israel are unjustifiable and may even be a breach of international humanitarian law. They are certainly against morality. Israel has the right to defend itself, but, as PM (Lawrence Wong) said back in May, it has now gone too far.”
