SINGAPORE: The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Friday (Sep 11) refuted claims by an Israeli media outlet that the death penalty was discussed during a visit by an Israeli delegation in May.
The Haaretz newspaper reported on Sep 7 that a delegation comprising representatives from the Israel Prison Service and National Security Ministry made a “secret visit” to Singapore that month.
Citing several unnamed sources, the report said the subject of the death penalty had come up, even though it was not part of the visit’s agenda.
An MHA spokesperson said the Haaretz correspondent, Mr Josh Breiner, had asked whether such discussions took place.
“He was categorically told that there had been no such discussions and it would be false to suggest otherwise. It is to be regretted that Haaretz and Mr Breiner have nevertheless put out such falsehoods,” the spokesperson told CNA.
MHA said it had hosted the Israeli delegation for an officials-level meeting that involved sharing of best practices in emergency response, crime prevention and forensics.
“Issues relating to the death penalty were never part of the meeting and were not discussed. Haaretz’s suggestion that the death penalty was raised during the meeting is false,” the spokesperson added.
MHA said it engages with various jurisdictions to facilitate information exchange and operational cooperation in domains such as fire and rescue, and cybercrime.
“This is part of the Singapore government’s engagement with a wide range of international counterparts in the conduct of foreign relations, economic cooperation, security dialogue, among others, in pursuit of our national interests,” the spokesperson said.
Haaretz, Israel’s oldest daily newspaper, describes itself as “one of its most influential media outlets” with a “liberal and progressive editorial stance on domestic issues and international affairs”
In the Sep 7 article, the Singapore Embassy in Israel had also told Haaretz that the discussions were “technical in nature” and covered the same areas cited by MHA. Issues relating to the death penalty were never part of the meeting, the embassy said.
Israel’s National Security Ministry said in response to Haaretz that “representatives of the National Security Ministry delegation and its agencies did not discuss the death penalty with their Singaporean counterparts.”
The Israeli ministry added that it has, in recent years, maintained “highly productive cooperation” with Singapore in “counterterrorism, the fight against serious crime and criminal organisations, the war on drug trafficking, and numerous technological fields”.
In March, Israel passed a law to allow the death penalty for Palestinians convicted of terrorism.
