SINGAPORE: Singapore said on Monday it will impose targeted sanctions on leaders of Israeli settler groups and would recognize a Palestine state under the right conditions.
Western and other nations have been taking an increasingly hard line against settler groups and some Israeli officials they accuse of fomenting violence, while global recognition is growing of Palestinians’ aspiration for an independent homeland.
Singapore’s Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan, speaking in parliament, chided those Israeli politicians who have spoken about annexing parts of the West Bank or Gaza, the two Israeli-occupied Palestinian territories.
“We call on the Israeli government to cease settlement construction and expansion,” he said, citing the so-called E1 settlement project as fragmenting the West Bank.
“We oppose ongoing attempts to create new facts on the ground which undermine the prospects for a two-state solution.”
More details on the sanctions would be released at a later date, he said.
Balakrishnan said it was a matter of when not if Singapore recognizes a Palestinian state and that the nation is waiting for an “appropriate constellation” of factors, including a need for an effective Palestinian government that accepts Israel’s right to exist and categorically renounces terrorism.
“Ultimately, to resolve this long-standing conflict in a comprehensive, just and durable manner, there needs to be a negotiated settlement which results in two states, one Israeli (and) one Palestinian, with their peoples living alongside each other in peace, security and dignity,” he added.
Most of the international community considers Israeli settlements in the West Bank illegal under international law. Israel disputes this, citing historical and biblical ties to the area and saying the settlements provide security.
While Singapore and Israel have shared close diplomatic and military ties since the former gained independence in 1965, the city-state in 2024 voted in favor of numerous resolutions expressing support for UN recognition of a Palestinian state.
Singapore to sanction Israeli settler leaders, supports Palestine statehood
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Singapore to sanction Israeli settler leaders, supports Palestine statehood
- Singapore’s Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan chided those Israeli politicians who have spoken about annexing parts of the West Bank or Gaza
Palestinian woman hospitalized following seizure in US ICE detention
- Kordia, a 33-year-old Muslim Palestinian woman living in the US and whose mother is an American citizen, was detained by US immigration authorities early last year
WASHINGTON: A Palestinian woman, who lost dozens of family members in the Gaza war, has been hospitalized following a seizure in US immigration detention, the Department of Homeland Security said on Monday.
On February 6, 2026, at about 8:45 p.m., “medical staff at the Prairieland Detention Center in Alvarado, Texas, notified ICE that detainee Leqaa Kordia was admitted to Texas Health Huguley Hospital in Burleson, Texas, for further evaluation following a seizure,” a DHS spokesperson said.
Kordia, a 33-year-old Muslim Palestinian woman living in the US and whose mother is an American citizen, was detained by US immigration authorities early last year.
She was detained during a meeting with immigration officials at the Newark Immigration and Customs Enforcement Field Office, where she was accompanied by her attorney. At the time of her detention last year, Kordia was in the process of securing legal residency.
In a weekend statement cited by media, her family and legal team said they have not received communication from US authorities about her health. The family could not immediately be reached for comment. DHS says ICE will ensure she receives proper medical care.
Rights groups have long reported on detainee complaints about conditions in ICE detention facilities, calling the conditions inhumane. The federal government has denied treating detainees inhumanely.
Amnesty International says 175 members of Kordia’s family have been killed during Israel’s assault on Gaza since late 2023 following an attack by militant group Hamas.
The Homeland Security Department says Kordia, who was raised in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, was arrested for immigration violations related to overstaying her expired student visa. The DHS also says she was arrested by local authorities in 2024 during pro-Palestinian protests at Columbia University that the department cast as being supportive of Hamas.
Kordia and other protesters, including some Jewish groups, say the government wrongly equates criticism of Israel’s assault on Gaza and its occupation of Palestinian territories with antisemitism, and advocacy for Palestinian rights with support for extremism.
Kordia has said she was targeted for pro-Palestinian activism and cast the conditions in her detention facility as “filthy, overcrowded and inhumane.”
President Donald Trump’s administration cracked down on pro-Palestinian protests by threatening to freeze federal funds for universities where protests occurred and by attempting to deport foreign protesters. It has faced legal obstacles while rights advocates say the crackdown hurts free speech and lacks due process.
