Singapore’s Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has rejected a report claiming that the death penalty was discussed during a visit by an Israeli security delegation to Singapore in May 2026.
MHA said on Friday, 11 September, that the meeting instead focused on areas including emergency response, crime prevention and forensics.
The ministry said issues involving the death penalty were neither part of the meeting nor discussed during it.
Haaretz Report Cited Unnamed Sources
Israeli newspaper Haaretz published a report on 7 September about a delegation comprising representatives from the Israel Prison Service and Israel’s National Security Ministry.
Haaretz described the trip as a secret visit and, citing unnamed sources, reported that the death penalty was discussed even though it was not on the official agenda.
MHA disputed that account.
According to an MHA spokesperson, Haaretz correspondent Josh Breiner had specifically asked the ministry whether such a discussion took place before the report was published.
MHA said he was clearly told that no such discussion had occurred and that suggesting otherwise would be false.
The ministry subsequently said Haaretz’s claim that the death penalty was raised during the meeting was false.
Singapore Says Meeting Was About Operational Cooperation
MHA confirmed that it hosted the Israeli delegation for an officials-level meeting.
It said officials shared practices relating to emergency response, crime prevention and forensic work.
MHA added that Singapore engages various jurisdictions to exchange information and cooperate operationally in fields such as fire and rescue services and cybercrime.
Such exchanges form part of Singapore’s wider engagement with international counterparts in areas including foreign relations and security cooperation, the ministry said.
The Singapore Embassy in Israel had also responded to Haaretz before its 7 September article was published.
According to CNA, the embassy described the discussions as technical and said they covered emergency response, crime prevention and forensics. It likewise denied that issues relating to capital punishment formed part of the meeting.
Israeli Ministry Also Denies Death Penalty Was Discussed
Israel’s National Security Ministry separately told Haaretz that representatives from the ministry and its agencies did not discuss the death penalty with their Singapore counterparts.
The Israeli ministry said it had maintained cooperation with Singapore in recent years in areas including counterterrorism, serious crime, organised crime, drug trafficking and technology.
The dispute comes months after Israel’s parliament passed legislation concerning the death penalty for terrorism-related killings.
On 30 March 2026, the Knesset approved the Death Penalty for Terrorists Bill in its second and third readings by 62 votes to 48, with one abstention.
Among other provisions, the legislation expanded circumstances in which capital punishment could be imposed for killings committed as acts of terrorism.
There is no dispute that the Israeli delegation visited Singapore in May. The conflicting claim concerns whether the death penalty was discussed during that meeting, something both Singapore’s MHA and Israel’s National Security Ministry have denied.
