Vivian Balakrishnan to visit Palestinian territories and Israel as part of Middle East trip

SINGAPORE: Singapore's Foreign Affairs Minister Vivian Balakrishnan will visit the Palestinian territories, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Saudi Arabia from Mar 18 to 24 as part of a trip to the Middle East.

He will be accompanied by a delegation that includes five Members of Parliament - Mr Alex Yam, Ms Nadia Ahmad Samdin, Ms Rachel Ong, Mr Zhulkarnain Abdul Rahim and Workers' Party MP Gerald Giam. 

They were in the Jordanian capital Amman over the weekend where they attended a ceremony to donate S$6.1 million (US$4.5 million) that was raised by the Singapore public for humanitarian efforts in Gaza.

The cheque was presented by Singapore's Rahmatan Lil Alamin Foundation (RLAF) to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).

Dr Balakrishnan earlier thanked Jordan for facilitating Singapore's airdrop of aid to Gaza.

Its third tranche of humanitarian assistance for Gaza arrived in Jordan and a Republic of Singapore Air Force C-130 transport aircraft will stay on to conduct the airdrop operations.

With the humanitarian situation in Gaza increasingly dire, donors have pursued alternatives including airdrops and maritime shipments to get much-needed supplies to the hunger-stricken enclave.

"Singapore continues to call for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire and urges all parties to allow for the immediate, safe and unhindered provision of humanitarian aid to affected civilians in Gaza," the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) and the Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) said on Mar 17. 

As part of their visit to Amman, Dr Balakrishnan and Senior Minister of State for Defence Zaqy Mohamad met Jordan's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Ayman Safadi. 

They also had an audience with King Abdullah II Al Hussein on Sunday, with Crown Prince Al Hussein Abdullah II in attendance. 

MFA said in a statement that Dr Balakrishnan conveyed Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s appreciation for Jordan's facilitation of Singapore’s humanitarian assistance for Gaza.

He expressed Singapore's continued support for King Abdullah II’s leadership role in "promoting peace and stability in the region including efforts to achieve a two-state solution to resolve the longstanding Israeli-Palestinian conflict".

The war in Gaza was triggered by Hamas' unprecedented Oct 7 attack on southern Israel that resulted in the deaths of about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, mostly civilians, according to Israeli tallies. More than 250 hostages were seized.

Israel's retaliatory ground and air campaign has killed more than 31,500 people, according to the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza. Israel said it has killed at least 13,000 Hamas members in the Gaza fighting.