Singapore votes in favour of UN resolution supporting full Palestinian membership

SINGAPORE: Singapore on Friday (May 10) voted in favour of a United Nations resolution expressing support for Palestine's full membership in the international body.

The General Assembly passed the draft resolution with 143 members voting in favour, nine against and 29 abstaining. 

In a statement on Friday, Foreign Affairs Minister Vivian Balakrishnan said Singapore chose to do this "after serious and careful consideration".

The draft resolution, introduced by the United Arab Emirates, said "the State of Palestine is qualified for membership in the United Nations in accordance with Article 4 of the (UN) Charter and should therefore be admitted".

It also called on the UN Security Council to "reconsider the matter favourably".

Dr Balakrishnan said that Singapore's vote was consistent with its support for a negotiated two-state solution "with Israelis and Palestinians living side by side in peace and security" as well as "relevant UN Security Council resolutions" on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

The vote also represented Singapore's "heartfelt desire to see both parties resume direct face-to-face negotiations in good faith", he said.

Reflecting on the "heinous" Oct 7 attacks by Hamas and Israel's military response, which he reiterated had "gone too far", Dr Balakrishnan said that the request to consider Palestinian membership had come at a "particularly difficult moment".

However, he said that the status quo was no longer enough, and that a "restart of diplomatic efforts" was needed.

"Ideally, Palestine's UN membership should have been considered when hostilities were ceased, when all civilian hostages were released, and when Israelis and Palestinians were back at the negotiating table," he said.

"But frankly, we are now so far from those conditions that Singapore and many other countries had to consider how our vote today would help lay the groundwork for an end to hostilities that would hopefully lead to an enduring peace. Or at the very least a return to the negotiating table to talk about how to get there.

"The only viable solution – difficult as it may be now amid the rage, the disillusionment, the anger and the distrust from both sides – is to revive efforts towards a two-state solution."

While it supported the resolution, Singapore will not work with Palestinian groups that deny Israel's right to exist, Dr Balakrishnan said.

"Let me reiterate that terrorism has no place in any process leading to a stable and peaceful political solution," he said.

"Groups, including Hamas, that continue to deny Israel's existence or refuse to renounce terrorism have no place in a future Palestinian state.

"For these reasons, Singapore will not work with any Palestinian group, including Hamas, that denies Israel's right to exist or refuses to renounce terrorism against it."

Dr Balakrishnan concluded his statement with a call for Israelis and Palestinians to take the "bold but necessary step (to) return to the negotiating table".

"As a friend of both Israel and Palestine, we urge both sides to avoid violence, to reject violence and to resume negotiations towards a two-state solution with the help and the support of the international community," he said.

"All Singaporeans wish for peace to be upon our friends in Israel and Palestine."