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US has lost support of youngsters on Gaza, says Singapore DM

July 19, 2024 at 12:45 pm

Pro-Palestinian student protesters resume demonstrations on Friday at Columbia University on the third day of ‘Gaza Solidarity Encampment’ after mass arrests by New York Police Department in New York, United States on April 19, 2024 [Selçuk Acar – Anadolu Agency]

Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza has led to a loss of support for the US among the younger generations, Singapore’s defence minister said.

“Not so much soft power, but I think across many countries, we’ve lost the young on this,” Ng Eng Hen said when asked whether the US was losing soft power amid war in the besieged Palestinian enclave.

Ng noted the West’s role in the Israeli war on Gaza had caused “anger” among people in Southeast Asia.

“The problem is that you’ve radicalised another generation of would-be terrorists, in Gaza and elsewhere,” the minister said.

“So, we hope that the violence in Gaza ends soon,” Ng said, adding that Singapore had airdropped humanitarian aid in Gaza through Jordan.

“But this is a longer tale, and it’s unfortunate that it happened,” he said.

Ng said: “The young, even in Singapore, are particularly incensed about the violence and the fact that nothing is done to stop it.”

“So, you would lose political support, not so much in soft power,” he added.

The defence minister stressed the world can’t afford a third conflict in Asia while the “two theatres” were going on in Ukraine and in Gaza.

However, he said: “The retaliation and the retribution by the IDF [Israeli occupation forces] is painful for all of us.”

“But the greater problem there is that it can expand beyond Gaza and Israel,” he warned.

The war in Gaza, he said, “has upended the Abraham Accords,” in reference to the peace agreements signed between Israel and Arab states including the UAE, Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan.

“Some of the states want to resume relations with Israel, but domestically, their politics have made it very, very difficult for them to sell their message.”

Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and has killed or injured more than 130,000 Palestinians since October. The US continues to provide Tel Aviv with the bombs and munitions it is using to attack Palestinian civilians in Gaza while shielding it from being held accountable internationally.

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