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Southeast Asian nation says the four men have committed ‘egregious acts of extreme violence’ against Palestinians in occupied West Bank
Arpan RaiFriday 21 November 2025 12:38 GMTComments
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At least four Israeli nationals are set to face sanctions by Singapore over charges of “egregious acts of extreme violence” against Palestinians in the West Bank, officials said on Friday.
Singapore’s foreign ministry named the four men – Meir Mordechai Ettinger, Elisha Yered, Ben-Zion Gopstein, and Baruch Marzel – and said their actions committed in the occupied West Bank were unlawful.
The four Israelis have been found to have jeopardised the prospects for a two-state solution in Palestine, the ministry said.
“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 said in a statement.
Singapore and Israel share a close diplomatic and military relationship, and the city state has also been a firm supporter of international law and the two-state solution.
Singapore in 2024 voted in the favour of numerous resolutions expressing support for the UN recognition of a Palestinian state.
It has called on the Israeli government to restrain acts of settler violence and hold the perpetrators accountable.
The four Israeli nationals have previously been sanctioned by the European Union. Mr Ettinger and Mr Yered have been sanctioned by the UK, Australia and Canada, among others, as well.
Elisha Yered, an Israeli settler and leading figure of the Hilltop Youth, visits with journalists in a makeshift clubhouse near the settlement of Maskiot in the northern West Bank (AP)According to the EU, Mr Ettinger and Mr Yered are members of the Hilltop Youth, a radical Israeli youth group. Mr Ettinger is the grandson of Meir Kahane, a US-born Israeli rabbi seen as an extremist figure who called for the mass expulsion of Arabs.
Mr Yered was arrested in September 2023 by Israeli law enforcement for the August 2023 shooting of a 19-year-old Palestinian following a clash with settlers in the West Bank.
Mr Gopstein is the founder and leader of the extremist organisation Lehava and Mr Marzel is a member of the far-right political party Otzma Yehudit. He was formerly leader of the Kahane party that was banned by Israeli authorities in 1994.
The announcement on Friday came after foreign minister Vivian Balakrishnan announced in the parliament that leaders of Israeli settler groups would be sanctioned.
Mr Balakrishnan added that Singapore would recognise a Palestine state under the right conditions.
The minister also called out Israeli politicians who had spoken about annexing parts of the West Bank or Gaza, the two Israeli-occupied Palestinian territories, and said that the so-called E1 settlement project would fragment the West Bank.
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