The government is to introduce legislation by February against a Palestinian group and supports Israel’s right to “its own security”.
The Swiss government has announced that it will present legislation by the end of February explicitly banning “Hamas activities or support” for the Palestinian group.
The Federal Council, the executive power, announced on Wednesday that it had decided to draft a law aimed at banning the Palestinian group “considering that this is the most appropriate response to the situation which has prevailed in the Middle East since the 7 october”.
“This law will provide federal authorities with the necessary tools to counter any Hamas activity or support for the organization in Switzerland.”
On October 7, Palestinian fighters from the Gaza Strip, ruled by Hamas since 2007, launched an attack on southern Israel that killed around 1,200 people, most of them civilians, according to the Israeli government.
Hamas and other Palestinian factions have also taken approximately 240 Israelis and foreigners captive in the Gaza Strip.
Since then, Israel has launched a massive air and ground offensive on the besieged Gaza Strip, killing at least 14,319 people, including more than 5,000 children, according to local health authorities.
On Wednesday morning, Israel and Hamas agreed to a Qatar-brokered deal for a four-day truce in Gaza and the release of 50 captives held in the enclave for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel, with negotiations being current on the calendar.
The seven-member council is formed by ministers from the four largest parties, and lawmakers in Parliament are likely to strongly support the bill, given the positions of the major parties.
The Swiss People’s Union, the country’s largest far-right party, has strongly pushed for a ban.
On Wednesday, the government called for respect for international humanitarian law and in particular for the protection of civilians. He expressed “deep sadness for the thousands of civilians who lost their lives in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories” and condemned the October 7 Hamas attack “in the strongest possible terms.”
The statement made no mention of Israel’s actions in Gaza but recognized “Israel’s right to ensure its own defense and security.”
“In view of the dramatic humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip, the Federal Council underlines the need to guarantee unhindered humanitarian access. Humanitarian pauses are necessary for this purpose,” the statement added.
Bern reiterated the need to restore the prospect of a political framework in the region based on a two-state solution.
“This approach is the only viable path to ensuring that the Palestinian and Israeli populations can coexist peacefully, safely and with dignity,” he said.
On October 11, the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) suspended multimillion-dollar funding to six Palestinian and five Israeli civil society organizations with ongoing international cooperation partnerships with the Swiss government. .
The 11 partner NGOs were subject to “in-depth monitoring of their compliance with the FDFA’s code of conduct and the anti-discrimination clause contained in their contracts”. As a result, three of the NGOs had their contracts with the government terminated.