Singapore Imposes Financial Sanctions on 4 Israelis over Violence in West Bank
Singapore announced on Friday that it will impose on four Israelis and bar them from entering the city-state over their “egregious acts of extreme violence” against Palestinians in the West Bank, according to Reuters.
Singapore’s Foreign Ministry stated that Meir Mordechai Ettinger, Elisha Yered, Ben-Zion Gopstein and Baruch Marzel have committed unlawful actions which undermined efforts to achieve a two-state solution in Palestine.
“As a firm supporter of international law and the two-state solution, Singapore opposes any unilateral attempts to change facts on the ground through acts which are illegal under international law,” the ministry added.
The European Union has previously imposed sanctions on the four Israeli nationals.
In September, Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan announced in parliament that leaders of Israeli settler groups would be sanctioned.
Moreover, Balakrishnan criticized Israeli politicians who called for the annexation of parts of the West Bank or Gaza, noting that the proposed E1 settlement project would further fragment the West Bank.
He revealed that Singapore would recognize the Palestinian state under the right conditions.
In August, Israel’s Far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich announced that Israel would “bury” the idea of a Palestinian state by dividing the West Bank and cut if off from East Jerusalem.
During his visit to Maale Adumim, Smotrich revealed that both Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump had agreed to the revival of the E1 scheme, a long-delayed settlement.
“Whoever in the world is trying to recognize a Palestinian state today will receive our answer on the ground. Not with documents nor with decisions or statements, but with facts. Facts of houses, facts of neighborhoods,” Smotrich said.
Related Topics:
US Voices Opposition to Israel’s West Bank Annexation
Trump Vows to Block Israeli Annexation of West Bank
German Conservative Party Halts Aid for West Bank
