Vivian Balakrishnan to visit Palestinian Territories & Israel from Nov. 3 to 6

Foreign Affairs Minister Vivian Balakrishnan will make a working visit to the Palestinian Territories and Israel from Nov. 3 to 6, following the first phase of the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas.

The visit reaffirms Singapore's commitment towards humanitarian assistance for Palestinian civilians in Gaza, and Singapore's support for the two-state solution, according to a press statement released by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) on Nov. 3.

Singapore will continue to support the Palestinian Authority’s capacity building programmes and assist international efforts for the long-term reconstruction of Gaza, the MFA said.

On the trip, Vivian will be accompanied by Members of Parliament Yip Hon Weng and Hazlina Abdul Halim.

Yip and Hazlina are also part of the Government Parliamentary Committee for Defence and Foreign Affairs.

MFA on the ceasefire

In a Oct. 9 statement, the MFA welcomed the commencement of phase one of the ceasefire plan, saying that the ceasefire and release of hostages will bring great relief to people in Gaza and Israel.

It urged both sides to make further progress towards resolving the conflict in subsequent phases, to enable the reconstruction of Gaza.

In Parliament on Oct. 15, Vivian called the first phase of the ceasefire "the first step of what will, in fact, be a long and arduous journey to peace", and cautioned that many things could still go wrong.

He added that Singapore will look to do more work with the Palestinian Authority in the short term on the governance of Gaza.

Vivian previously met leaders from Israel and the Palestinian Authority during a 10-day working trip to the Middle East in March 2024.

The trip helped to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian assistance to Gaza, while Vivian also reiterated Singapore's call for a negotiated two-state solution.

Top images from Vivian Balakrishnan's Facebook