Singaporeans distressed by the 'unconscionable & inhuman' conflict in Gaza: PM Lee

Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has said that he understands that Muslims in the multi-national-multi-racial country are distressed by the unconscionable and inhuman conflict in Gaza but underlined that Singaporeans have to work together to acknowledge these feelings and provide help to the Palestinians in a practical manner.The conflict in Gaza was triggered by the unprecedented attacks against Israel by Hamas militants on October 7 that killed around 1,200 people.

Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has said that he understands that Muslims in the multi-national-multi-racial country are distressed by the ''unconscionable and inhuman'' conflict in Gaza but underlined that Singaporeans have to work together to acknowledge these feelings and provide help to the Palestinians in a practical manner.

The conflict in Gaza was triggered by the unprecedented attacks against Israel by Hamas militants on October 7 that killed around 1,200 people. Israel has launched a massive counter-offensive against the Islamic militant group that has ruled Gaza since 2007. More than 34,900 people have been killed in Gaza in Israeli action, according to the territory's Hamas-run health ministry.

The 72-year-old leader said that while the Israel-Palestine conflict is not about religion, religion is nonetheless an element fuelling the emotions, Channel News Asia reported on Friday. Lee, who has served as Singapore's prime minister since 2004, will step down in a leadership renewal process on May 15.

"You talk about Al-Aqsa Mosque, Jerusalem, and here there is a religious identification. So, the Muslims feel much more strongly about this, generally speaking, than the non-Muslims in Singapore," said the leader of the prosperous island state nestled in Southeast Asia with predominantly Muslim-inclined neighbours in Indonesia and Malaysia.

"I think others too, young Singaporeans, they are worked up, but I would say if you are Muslim, that is an extra factor which makes sure you are very, very engaged," he said.

Lee said that Singaporeans have to work together to acknowledge those feelings but also provide help in a manner that is practical and not just performative.

"I can strike a pose, say this and that, have a demonstration, burn flags. It is cathartic, but does it help people who desperately need help?" he asked.

Instead, Singapore has arranged donations, with the Singapore Red Cross delivering them to Egypt. The country also collected and airdropped food and medical necessities over Gaza to help the population with their urgent needs, he said.

In November last year, Singapore handed over SGD 2 million (USD 1.47 million) in public donations for humanitarian assistance to civilians in Gaza to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East in Cairo.

Lee said that over a two-week deployment in March, the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) airdropped over 20 tonnes of food supplies – equivalent to more than 59,000 meals – into the enclave from a C-130 transport aircraft.

In a wide-ranging interview taking stock of his 20-year tenure as Prime Minister, Lee spoke about Singapore's foreign policy interests, challenges, and relations with neighbouring countries.

He said Singapore has to take an official stand on the issue and make its views known.

"So, we have taken that stand, first at the UN where we voted for the ceasefire resolutions at the General Assembly repeatedly," he said.

"People will want to see how the new leaders are, what their policy is and what their personality is. His standing, his strength and support at home, and his ability to engage and to hold his own, and to be somebody to take seriously," he said of his successor Lawrence Wong, the deputy prime minister designated head of government from May 15.

Lee, who will stay in the government as a senior minister of the economically and digitally linked global financial hub for Asia, said that while foreign policy must be guided by national interest, what constitutes national interest remains a continuing debate.

He said that beyond bread-and-butter issues, values and ideals matter too, such as multiracialism, democracy and integrity of the system.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)