Singapore among 19 states named in UN report for alleged supply of F-35 fighter parts to Israel

A United Nations report released on 20 October 2025 has accused more than 60 countries of complicity in what it describes as the “collective crime” of enabling Israel’s genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.

The report, authored by Francesca Albanese, UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories, alleges that many nations have provided Israel with diplomatic protection, military hardware, and economic support despite repeated UN warnings.

According to the UN document, titled “Gaza Genocide: A Collective Crime,” the systematic targeting of Gaza has been “sustained by the complicity of influential Third States” that have long enabled violations of international law.

Singapore among 19 nations named in UN report for alleged supply of F-35 parts to Israel

A key section of the report highlights allegations that certain states are indirectly supplying arms to Israel by providing components used in its weaponry.

Notably, it cites the multinational F-35 stealth fighter programme, which Albanese describes as “central to the Israeli military assault in Gaza.”

She identifies 19 countries allegedly contributing parts and components to the aircraft, including Australia, Belgium, Canada, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Greece, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, South Korea, Romania, Singapore, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

Seventeen of these states have ratified the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT), which prohibits the transfer of weapons likely to be used in breaches of international law.

Despite this, Albanese says, “States continue to transfer F-35 parts, heavily used in the genocidal destruction of Gaza.”

Report rejects ‘defensive’ or ‘non-lethal’ justifications

The report also criticises the argument frequently made by governments that their arms exports to Israel are “defensive” or “non-lethal.”

Albanese asserts that the ATT “does not recognise either distinction,” requiring states instead to assess the overall impact of their transfers.

“Given that the occupation of Palestinian territory is an ongoing unlawful use of force,” she writes, “nothing Israel does there can be understood as defensive in nature.”

Accusations of diplomatic and media complicity

Beyond arms transfers, Albanese accuses Western nations of providing diplomatic immunity for Israel and shaping narratives that excuse its actions.

She writes that media and political discourse in many Western countries have “parroted Israeli narratives” and drawn on colonial tropes portraying Israel as a “civilised” nation defending itself against “savages.”

According to the report, the United States used its veto at the UN Security Council seven times to block ceasefire resolutions, effectively providing “diplomatic cover for the genocide.”

The UK, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Germany, and the Netherlands were cited as having supported or abstained from measures that diluted international responses, creating “an illusion of progress.”

Failures by regional and international institutions

While Arab and Muslim states were noted for expressing support for Palestine, the report criticises their lack of decisive action.

It alleges that some regional players facilitated land routes to Israel and that Egypt maintained relations, including energy cooperation, while closing the Rafah crossing.

The Special Rapporteur further accuses Western governments of undermining international judicial efforts.

Many countries, she said, failed to support South Africa and Nicaragua’s genocide cases before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and ignored rulings on the illegality of Israel’s occupation.

She adds that several Western states have also “undermined the arrest warrants” issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other officials.

The United States, according to the report, imposed sanctions on the ICC, while the United Kingdom threatened to withdraw funding.

Continued arms trade despite UN embargo calls

Despite UN resolutions dating back to 1976 calling for an arms embargo on Israel, Albanese reports that many countries continue to supply weapons and technology. She describes the United States, Germany, and Italy as “among the largest suppliers.”

The US currently guarantees US$3.3 billion annually in Foreign Military Financing to Israel and an additional US$500 million per year until 2028 for missile defence programmes.

The report adds that 26 states sent at least ten consignments of arms and ammunition, with China, India, Italy, Austria, Spain, Czechia, Romania, and France listed among the most frequent exporters.

Economic ties sustaining Israel’s occupation

The report argues that maintaining normal trade relations “legitimises and sustains the Israeli apartheid regime.”

Despite a drop in Israel’s trade-to-GDP ratio from 61 per cent in 2022 to 54 per cent in 2024, the European Union—its largest trading partner—continued to account for nearly one-third of total trade.

Countries such as Germany, Poland, Greece, Italy, Denmark, France, and Serbia reportedly increased trade with Israel during the Gaza offensive. In the Arab world, the UAE, Egypt, Jordan, and Morocco also expanded commercial ties.

Turkey was the only state to suspend trade with Israel in May 2024, although Albanese notes that some exchanges continued indirectly.

Suspension of aid to UNRWA condemned

Albanese also highlights the withdrawal of funding from the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) following Israeli allegations that its staff were involved in the 7 October 2023 Hamas-led attacks.

Eighteen countries, including several Western donors, suspended funding without independent verification. The United States, previously UNRWA’s largest donor, enacted legislation banning any future contributions.

Albanese argues that such measures “distracted from the core issue” and worsened the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

“Culmination of a long history of complicity”

In closing her report, Albanese said the ongoing atrocities in Gaza are “not an aberration but the culmination of a long history of complicity.”

She accused complicit states of perpetuating “colonial and racial-capitalist practices that should have long been consigned to history.”

“Even as the genocidal violence became visible,” she wrote, “States, mostly Western ones, have provided, and continue to provide, Israel with military, diplomatic, economic and ideological support, even as it weaponised famine and humanitarian aid.”

In 2024, Singapore's MFA Minister stays silent on arms sales to Israel, citing national security policy

Singapore's foreign Minister Dr Vivian Balakrishnan previously addressed Parliament in October 2024, responding to questions by then-Non-Constituency Member of Parliament Leong Mun Wai on whether Singapore would consider suspending arms sales or imposing sanctions on Israeli entities.

Balakrishnan declined to confirm whether Singapore had halted any such transfers, citing the government’s policy of not disclosing defence sale details for national security reasons.

He also noted that while some countries had imposed sanctions on certain Israeli settlers or entities, their effectiveness remained uncertain. “Any decision to impose unilateral sanctions must be considered carefully and based on our national interests,” he said.

Singapore established diplomatic ties with Israel in 1969, and Israel played a formative role in developing the city-state’s early defence capabilities. Both countries continue to maintain trade and security cooperation.

Singapore’s civil society groups have called on the government to end all military, economic, and academic ties with Israel and institutions accused of funding or supplying genocide, urging an immediate arms embargo and economic sanctions.