“What has happened is a paradigm shift and a warning to the government that its views, logic and rationality are not working with some people in society,” he said. “It shows that people are ready to take political risk, and this is new [for Singapore].”

Created by an organisation called Singapore for Palestine, the petition acknowledged that the city state’s leaders had expressed their concern about the plight of Palestinians and criticised Israel’s disproportionate response.

“What then is the point of the actions Singapore has been taking to aid Gaza, while financing and collaborating with Israel on arms trade, making their attacks on Gaza more lucrative? It is unacceptable that Singaporeans’ hard-earned money is used to fund genocide,” the petition’s writers said.

In Singapore, a ‘highly unusual’ debate on the Israel-Gaza war emerges

The protesters also wanted to show solidarity with the global A15 day for economic blockade, which called for a multi-city economic blockade on April 15, a spokesman for the organisation told This Week in Asia.

Besides ending arms trade with Israel, protesters also want the government to “stop criminalising solidarity with Palestine”.

“The outpouring of support we’ve been receiving from fellow Singaporeans has also been incredible, and we feel their solidarity,” the group added.

Since Israeli military advisers left the republic in the mid-1970s, both sides fostered close ties in defence and technology, with arms deals totalling about US$61 million from 2014 to 2019, according to the Database of Israeli Military and Security Export.

The arms trade included the sale of tanks, air-to-ground Barak missiles and the Hermes drone system, among other devices and warships.

In the last few months, political observers have noted Singapore’s political elite expressing greater empathy for the plight of Palestinians. Last month, the Singapore government asked the Israeli embassy to remove a Facebook post that contained claims comparing mentions of Israel and Palestine in the Koran.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Vivian Balakrishnan also similarly addressed the Israeli embassy’s post as he made his way back from a trip to the Middle East, where he visited Israel and the Palestinian territories, and reiterated Singapore’s call for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza and the unconditional release of all hostages.

Singapore’s Israeli post takedown order reflects ‘heightened sensitivity’

It was unlikely that the government would take on more drastic measures beyond a shift in language, Singh from NUS said.

“They want the government to take a stronger stand … and to terminate their close relationship with Israel, which is not realistic. Our relationship with Israel is too strategic and cannot be terminated easily. The question should be: how would we put pressure on Israel?” he said, stressing that Singapore had “very little leverage over Israel”.

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Singapore’s Lee Hsien Loong will hand over power to deputy Lawrence Wong on May 15

Singapore’s Lee Hsien Loong will hand over power to deputy Lawrence Wong on May 15

The government would have to strike a tough balancing act as the war continued with no clear end in sight, he said, noting that the Gardens by the Bay incident coincided with Monday’s announcement that Prime Minister Lee would step down on May 15.

“These are the new challenges [Deputy Prime Minister] Wong will have to face. These challenges are internal, from young Singaporeans. If you cannot communicate with them, and you come down too hard on them, the consequences will be dire,” Singh said.

After 54 years of diplomatic ties, Singapore in December presented to Israeli President Isaac Herzog its first resident ambassador to Israel. The city state has an embassy in Tel Aviv and an office in Ramallah to coordinate help to the Palestinian Authority that governs the West Bank.