News report on Israeli meeting in May to discuss death penalty in S’pore is false: Shanmugam

He added it is in Singapore’s national interest to maintain these channels of cooperation, including with countries in the Middle East.

The meeting with the Israeli delegation was one such engagement, but the discussions focused on operational and security-related issues, and did not extend to broader foreign policy matters, said Shanmugam.

He said Singapore’s positions on such matters are addressed through the appropriate foreign policy channels, including by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

As for the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), he said that since January 2025, there have been 11 officials-level bilateral exchanges with foreign counterparts, including several with partners from the Middle East.

Shanmugam said the contents of the exchanges are confidential and generally not publicised because of the security concerns.

However, there was a press release issued for one, at the request of the counterpart concerned.

Shanmugam said MHA responded to the Haaretz article because the article’s claims concerning the meeting with Israeli security officials were categorically false.

He said that at the time of the article’s publication, it assessed that it was not in the public interest for a POFMA direction to be issued.

But it remains a possibility, should circumstances change.

Shanmugam said: “That is the approach MHA takes to discussions with its bilateral counterparts, on matters of shared operational and security concern.”

He said if Fadli believes MHA should use such engagements to raise broader concerns about the policies or conduct of the country concerned, then he should say so clearly.

He also asked Fadli to clarify whether he believes this principle should apply only to Israel, or consistently to all countries that engage with MHA.

Shanmugam said: “For example, when MHA holds operational discussions with other Middle Eastern or Asian countries, should we also raise the concerns Singapore may have with their conduct or policies?

“If that is the Member’s position, the Government would be interested to understand how he proposes that such an approach would serve Singapore’s overall interests.”