The interior of Singapore’s Maghain Aboth Synagogue. Photo: Singapore Jewish Community.

The authorities in Singapore on Wednesday announced the detention of a 20-year-old man suspected of planning a knife attack against Jews leaving a synagogue.

Amirull Ali — who was a full-time national serviceman in the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) when he was arrested in February — had allegedly planned to target three Jewish men after shabbat services at the Maghain Aboth Synagogue in the south-east Asian city-state.

On Wednesday, Singapore’s Internal Security Department (ISD) said that Ali — who was “enraged by the Israel-Palestine conflict,” according to local news outlet the Straits Times — had targeted the men on the assumption that they had served in the Israeli army and therefore had carried out alleged atrocities against Palestinians. Ali is being detained under Singapore’s Internal Security Act (ISA).

Ali reportedly shelved his plans twice, as he was concerned he would not attain “martyrdom” should he be arrested and sentenced to death after the attack. Instead, he made plans to travel to Gaza to join the Hamas terrorist organization.

On Wednesday morning, a group of Muslim leaders visited the Maghain Aboth Synagogue — the oldest Jewish house of worship in the region, built in 1878 — to express their solidarity and friendship with the Jewish community.

The meeting included Mufti Nazirudin Mohd Nasir, Islamic Religious Council of Singapore chief executive Esa Masood, and the head of the Harmony Centre, Liyana Rosli Asmara, as well as Chief Rabbi Mordechai Abergel and Jewish Welfare Board leaders Nash Benjamin and Reuben Khafi.

“We enjoy an amazing relationship with our Muslim friends. We break bread together, we meet for social events. We have regular meetings, we talk to each other regularly. So I really, really don’t think this is something that’s going to affect our relationship, not in the least,” Rabbi Abergel told reporters after the meeting.

Around 300 Jews live in Singapore, many of them expatriates from the US, Australia, New Zealand, Morocco, Belgium, the UK, South Africa, and Israel.