Kawin Wilairat in his 1975 essay on Singaporean's foreign policy 10 years since its independence points out that Singapore's first prime minister Lee Kuan Yew often made remarks on Singapore's supposed precarious position surrounding its Muslim neighbours like Malaysia and Indonesia as an "Israel in a Malay-Muslim sea".

[9] The Malaysian government threatened to stop Singapore's water supply across the Johor–Singapore Causeway, which the latter had heavily relied on prior to the introduction of NEWater and the construction of desalination plants.

During the visit, Prime Minister Lee spoke in favour of Singapore's long-standing position of a two-state solution to the Israeli–Palestinian conflict.

In explaining the reasons for Singapore's abstention, Senior Minister of State Masagos Zulkifli stated that Singapore believes "that only a negotiated settlement consistent with UN Security Council Resolution 242 can provide the basis for a viable, long term solution" and that "both sides have legitimate rights and shared responsibilities, and must be prepared to make compromises to achieve the larger good of a lasting peace".

[22] In August 2023, Israeli Economy Minister Nir Barkat led a delegation to Singapore aimed at boosting mutual cooperation in the fields of education, medical research, tourism, water scarcity solutions, support for entrepreneurs, and technological innovation.

[23] In January 1968, before diplomatic relations were established, Singapore made an agreement to purchase 72 surplus AMX-13 tanks from Israel.

[24] Over the years, Israel has continued to advise Singapore on an array of military topics, ranging from night operations to aviation psychology.

[25] In 2012, it was reported that Singapore expressed interest in purchasing several Iron Dome defence system units[26] and a deal took place four years later.

In January 2009, the Singapore Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) said of the Gaza War, "This is an extremely disturbing development," that "It can only exacerbate the already grave humanitarian situation."

In July 2014, the Singapore Ministry of Foreign Affairs also issued a statement on the recent murder of the three Israeli teenagers in the West Bank.

[28] In the 2014 Gaza–Israel conflict, Singapore Minister for Foreign Affairs K. Shanmugam said the Palestinian militant organisation Hamas has "deliberately used civilians as [human] shields" and was responsible for rejecting the Egyptian proposal on 15 July 2014 for a ceasefire.

During the 2023 Israel–Hamas war that began on 7 October, Singapore condemned Hamas' rocket and terror attack on Israel,[30] with Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and President Tharman Shanmugaratnam writing condolence letters of support to their respective counterparts Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Isaac Herzog on 8 October.

[31] K. Shanmugam stated a few days later on 12 October that such atrocities [by Hamas] "cannot be justified by any rationale" and that "it is possible to deeply sympathise with the plight of the Palestinians, and yet still unequivocally condemn the terrorist attacks carried out in Israel.

"[32] On 16 October, it was announced that both the government and the Singapore Red Cross (SRC) will contribute over half a million dollars in humanitarian aid to support relief efforts.