Brunei–Israel Relations

Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs diplomatic-relations spreadsheet records Brunei with the designation "אין יחסים" — Hebrew for "no relations" — without providing a date for when this status began or any additional explanation.[1] A 2018 Israeli government publication stated that Israel maintained diplomatic relations with seven of the ten ASEAN member states — Vietnam, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, and Myanmar. Brunei was not among the seven countries named.[5]

Brunei is listed among the countries that do not recognize Israel.[2] A 2016 BESA Center paper similarly identified Brunei alongside Malaysia, Pakistan, and Bangladesh as countries that did not recognize Israel, noting that Israel found it "much more difficult" to make progress with states in that category.[6] A 2020 analysis contrasted Brunei with Indonesia, which it described as having a history of positive, though inconsistent, signals toward Israel; it provided no further details about Brunei–Israel relations.[7]

A 1999 report in Globes described a secret visit to Israel by an adviser to Brunei's Sultan, identified as B. Naliq Faqouli. The report described him as a Mali-born president of a large oil company who was in charge of Brunei's National Investment Agency.[8] Faqouli said that the Sultan had sent him to promote economic ties despite the absence of diplomatic relations.[8]

His proposal involved Brunei importing advanced Israeli high-tech and construction technologies while Israel imported Bruneian oil.[8] The delegation also included Mali's national railways director-general, an adviser to the president of French Guiana, the son of Togo's president, and an official from Togo's free-trade zone. The visit was arranged by the president of the Israel General Managers Forum, and the same account said that a later 40-person business delegation from West African and Muslim countries without ties to Israel had been agreed upon.[8] The visit documents reported interest in economic engagement despite the absence of formal relations, but the article did not state that a formal agreement had been concluded.

The U.S. Department of State's 2023 Country Report on Human Rights Practices for Brunei noted that the country's tourist passports contained a statement specifying that the bearer could not travel to Israel.[3] The report situated this restriction within a broader discussion of Brunei's limitations on foreign travel, including exit-permit requirements applicable to government employees and contractors.[3]

During the May 2021 Gaza hostilities, Brunei joined Indonesia and Malaysia in criticizing Israeli military actions and urging United Nations intervention, using the phrase "the atrocities carried out against the Palestinian people."[9] The three countries also called for an end to what they described as Israel's occupation of Palestinian territories and advocated a two-state solution based on pre-1967 borders.[9]

Israel's ambassador to Singapore at the time, Sagi Karni, rejected the criticism as "not honest," arguing that it misrepresented a conflict between Israel and Hamas as one between Israel and the Palestinian people as a whole.[9] Karni stated that Israel remained willing to talk and that its door was open to establishing relations with Southeast Asian Muslim nations.[9]

A Washington Institute compilation of international reactions to the October 7, 2023 Hamas terrorist attack recorded "Brunei: None," meaning that the compilation included no statement from Brunei.[10]

UN Watch's current profile records that, from 2015 onward, Brunei voted against Israel's position in 181 Israel-related General Assembly resolutions — 100% of the resolutions in its dataset, with no votes in Israel's favor and no abstentions.[4]

Among specific votes, on December 3, 2024, Brunei voted in favor of UN General Assembly resolution A/RES/79/82, titled "Division for Palestinian Rights of the Secretariat," which Israel opposed; the resolution passed 101 to 27, with 42 abstentions.[11] On December 2, 2025, Brunei voted in favor of resolution A/RES/80/72 on the "Peaceful settlement of the question of Palestine," which Israel again opposed; that resolution passed 151 to 11, with 11 abstentions.[12] Brunei also voted in favor of resolution A/RES/80/195, titled "The right of the Palestinian people to self-determination," which called for an end to the Israeli occupation that began in 1967; the resolution passed 164 to 8, with 9 abstentions.[13]

In December 2020, following the Abraham Accords normalizations between Israel and several Arab states, Ynet reported that Israeli officials said additional talks were being held with several countries and included Brunei among the countries listed in Asia.[14] The report gave no Brunei-specific details and did not state that Brunei had expressed willingness to normalize relations.[14] Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has continued to list Brunei as having no relations with Israel.[1]

A 2007 Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs article listed Brunei among Asian Muslim countries that "still refuse to establish diplomatic relations with Israel." It also argued that Israel's agreements with Egypt, the PLO, and Jordan had produced no change in the policies of the Asian Muslim countries it discussed.[15] These statements describe the author's assessment in 2007 and should not be treated as independent confirmation of Brunei's current position.

UN Watch attributes a statement to Brunei at the UN's 60th session accusing Israel of genocide against Palestinian civilians.[16] The page provides neither a date nor the original transcript, so the page alone does not permit independent verification of the quotation's wider context.[16] The Jewish Virtual Library page listing Brunei as a non-recognizing state also contains an internal inconsistency: its list heading refers to 26 non-recognizing countries, while the introductory text cites 29.[2]