Handover Ceremony for the Fourth Tranche of Humanitarian Assistance for Gaza, 22 July 2024

Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr Vivian Balakrishnan announced Singapore's fourth tranche of humanitarian assistance for Gaza at a handover ceremony that was attended by Singapore's Representative to the Palestinian Authority Hawazi Daipi, Chargé d'Affaires at the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Embassy in Singapore Dhabia Al Mehairbi, and Honorary Consul of the Republic of Cyprus in Singapore Raja Bose.

The fourth tranche will comprise approximately 300 metric tonnes (MT) of halal-certified canned sardines and 1000 MT of white rice. These essential supplies will be transported via commercial sea freight from Singapore to Larnaca, Cyprus, for onward conveyance to Gaza, in cooperation with the UAE and Cyprus.

This latest aid is part of Singapore's ongoing effort to support humanitarian relief operations for civilians in Gaza. The last tranche of aid comprising food and critical supplies was delivered to Gaza in March 2024, in coordination with the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. With this latest tranche of aid, Singapore has to-date contributed more than S$17 million worth of donations for Gaza.

Singapore reaffirms its continued commitment to offering assistance and support to civilians in Gaza, in close collaboration with our partners. We reiterate our call for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire, as well as the unconditional, immediate and safe release of all hostages. We also urge all parties to allow for the urgent, safe and unhindered provision of humanitarian aid to affected civilians in Gaza.

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MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS

SINGAPORE

22JULY 2024

TRANSCRIPT OF MINISTER FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS DR VIVIAN BALAKRISHNAN'S REMARKS AT THE HANDOVER CEREMONY FOR THE FOURTH TRANCHE OF HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE FOR GAZA, 22 JULY 2024

Mr Hawazi Daipi, Singapore's Representative to the Palestinian Authority,

Mdm Dhabia Al Mehairbi, the Chargé d'Affaires of the United Arab Emirates Embassy in Singapore,

Mr Raja Bose, the Honorary Consul of the Republic of Cyprus in Singapore,

Good morning, and I want to thank you all for spending some time with us today.

The conflict in Gaza is now into its ninth month. Singaporeans are deeply distressed and grieved over the situation, the dire humanitarian situation, in Gaza. The suffering, which we are all aware of and have seen, is deeply heart wrenching.

Since the start of the conflict, Singapore has been actively supporting humanitarian efforts in Gaza. Many Singaporeans, both officially as well as in their private capacity, have been generously contributing to multiple fundraising efforts that would support these humanitarian efforts, and I want to call out especially organisations like the Rahmatan Lil Alamin Foundation, Mercy Relief and the Singapore Red Cross. In November 2023, Minister Maliki Osman visited Cairo to preside over the handover of our first tranche of public donations by Singaporeans to the civilians in Gaza, and this included the delivery of humanitarian goods from the Singapore Red Cross, including medical supplies, food provisions, hygiene kits, etc. Later that same month in November 2023, we delivered our second tranche of humanitarian assistance. The RSAF deployed a Multi Role Tanker Transport (MRTT) to Al Arish in Egypt, and it carried 10 tonnes of humanitarian supplies which were subsequently delivered to the civilians in Gaza. In March this year, the RSAF deployed an MRTT to Amman in Jordan, as well as a Charlie-130 (C-130) aircraft, which was used subsequently to airdrop about 20 tonnes of food supplies into Gaza. The SAF has also deployed a medical team on board the French Armed Forces ship in Al Arish to help treat civilian casualties in Gaza, and this was done earlier this year in January. I'm very grateful to the support of our regional partners, in particular Egypt and Jordan, who worked very closely with us. Without their support, we would not have been able to physically deliver these much-needed supplies to our Palestinian friends and civilians who need our support.

We are all aware that food insecurity remains a pressing concern in Gaza, and so we have decided that we will deliver a fourth tranche of humanitarian assistance. This time, we will be working with our partners in the United Arab Emirates and in Cyprus. This fourth tranche of humanitarian assistance will comprise 300 metric tonnes of sardines and 1000 metric tonnes of rice. This aid will be shipped from Singapore to Larnaca in Cyprus and then on to Gaza, where it will be distributed to the communities who need it. This latest tranche of aid represents our continued and steadfast commitment to alleviate the suffering in Gaza. We will continue to work with our partners to ensure that the aid reaches all those in need swiftly and effectively. If you include all the packages, the tranches of aid that have been delivered so far, Singapore has contributed more than S$17 million worth of donations for Gaza. This includes the S$8.1 million in funds that were raised by Rahmatan Lil Alamin Foundation for the United Nations Relief Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East and over S$2 million which it has also raised for the United Nations Children's Fund. In the immediate term, we hope that a ceasefire deal, a humanitarian ceasefire, can be reached in Gaza. This would allow all hostages to be released and for humanitarian assistance to reach all the affected civilian population. In the longer term, a comprehensive, just, and durable solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict must be found.

I note that the International Court of Justice has just published its advisory opinion. This was done just last Friday and Singapore is studying this advisory opinion very carefully. Singapore's long-standing position on the issue of Israeli settlements has been clear and consistent. We view Israel's settlements in the West Bank as illegal under international law. These settlements, in fact, make it much harder to arrive at a negotiated two-state solution. Mr Hawazi and I have been to Ramallah on multiple occasions. We have witnessed the impact of these settlements on making and complicating the situation much further, making a negotiated solution in the long run much more difficult. This is why we have consistently voted in support of UN General Assembly resolutions that reject Israeli settlements in the West Bank. We have also voted in favour of all UN General Assembly resolutions calling upon Israel to rescind all unilateral measures to change the status of Jerusalem.

As I have said in Parliament on 2 July, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is a long-standing, complicated one. Singapore's principled position is that both sides need to find the political will to resume negotiations with the support of the international community in order to make progress towards a two-state solution consistent with the United Nations Security Council resolutions. Only direct negotiations between both sides will achieve a durable, just, and comprehensive solution. In the meantime, Singapore remains committed to supporting the Palestinian Authority, especially in its capacity-building efforts through our Enhanced Technical Assistance Package. We recently hosted a training course for Palestinian officials in the area of AI and the use of big data in driving the delivery of public services. In fact, they were here just two weeks ago. We also currently have three Palestinians undergoing graduate studies in Singapore this academic year. We will continue to find practical ways in which Singapore can continue to help our Palestinian friends in these most difficult times. Thank you.

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Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr Vivian Balakrishnan symbolically handed over a box of aid to Chargé d'Affaires at the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Embassy in Singapore Dhabia Al Mehairbi, and Honorary Consul of the Republic of Cyprus in Singapore Raja Bose at the handover ceremony. Singapore's Representative to the Palestinian Authority Hawazi Daipi was also present at the ceremony.

Photo credit: Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Singapore

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