Singapore to Israeli embassy: Delete post on Palestinians

Singapore made the Israeli embassy in the city-state take down an “insensitive” social media post about the Palestinians over the weekend after warning it could inflame tensions, its interior chief said on Monday.

The Israel-Hamas war and the deepening humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip since the militants’ deadly attacks on October 7 have divided opinion across the world.

The post reportedly said Israel was mentioned 43 times in the Quran, but Palestine — the name Palestinians give to what they hope will become their independent, sovereign state — was not, local media reported.

Home Affairs Minister K. Shanmugam said he had asked Singapore’s Foreign Ministry to tell the Israeli embassy to remove the post made on Sunday after learning about it, which the mission immediately did.

“That post on the Israeli embassy social media page is completely unacceptable. I was very upset when I was told about it,” Shanmugam told reporters, according to a transcript.

“It is insensitive and inappropriate. It carries the risk of undermining our safety, security and harmony in Singapore,” he said.

Shanmugam said the post had been taken down.

“Posts like these can ... inflame tensions, and can put the Jewish community here at risk. The anger from the post can potentially spill over into the physical realm,” he added.

The Israeli embassy was not immediately available for comment.

Singapore has condemned Hamas’ attacks on Israel but has also said that the country’s military response “has now gone too far.”

The post was apparently posted in the context of the war between Israel and Hamas, which began after the October 7 attacks resulted in about 1,160 deaths in southern Israel, mostly civilians, an Agence France-Presse tally based on official Israeli figures shows.