Netanyahu meets Singapore FM in Jerusalem for talks encouraging bilateral ties
Nava Freiberg is The Times of Israel's deputy diplomatic correspondent.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar held separate meetings today with Singapore’s Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan, encouraging strong bilateral ties with the Southeast Asian island, according to their offices.
In a readout of their meeting this afternoon, Netanyahu hails Israel’s “historic friendship with Singapore,” expressing his will to “continue advancing our shared goals of prosperity, peace, and security.”
Sa’ar, who met with his Singaporean counterpart earlier in the day, writes on X that the two discussed “the situation in the Middle East, Israel’s diplomatic and security challenges, and the relations between our countries.”
Sa’ar adds that he thanked Balakrishnan for Singapore’s “responsible decision” not to recognize a Palestinian state ahead of the United Nations General Assembly in September, saying that “the only path now is the Trump plan,” referring to the US president’s comprehensive peace plan in Gaza.
In September, Balakrishnan announced that Singapore would impose targeted sanctions on leaders of Israeli settler groups, calling on the government “to cease settlement construction and expansion,” but would not join other Western nations in unilaterally recognizing a Palestinian state, advocating for “a negotiated settlement” to reach a two-state solution.
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