What Does Banning Hamas Mean For Neutral Switzerland?

(MENAFN- Swissinfo) Does it harm Switzerland's good offices if it bans Palestinian militant group Hamas? Parliament has been debating this for years. Now the arguments in favour of a ban have won.

This content was published on December 11, 2024 - 14:55 8 minutes

Switzerland has many faces, and each has many stories to tell. I am interested in the country in all its diversity. I write about Agriculture and banks, diplomats and folk-style wrestlers, but also industrial excellence and cultural achievements.

More from this auth
German Departme

Deutsch de Hamas-Verbot: Die neutrale Schweiz bezieht Position Original Read more: Hamas-Verbot: Die neutrale Schweiz bezieht Positio
Français fr En interdisant le Hamas, la Suisse neutre prend position Read more: En interdisant le Hamas, la Suisse neutre prend positio
Italiano it Divieto di Hamas: la Svizzera neutrale prende posizione Read more: Divieto di Hamas: la Svizzera neutrale prende posizione

Until now, Switzerland has deliberately exercised restraint in banning terrorist organisations, preferring to keep its doors open.“We talk to everyone” is the slogan of Swiss diplomacy.

This also applied to Hamas. Switzerland maintained a discreet but at times intensive dialogue with Hamas for decades, until just a few years ago.“Switzerland uses its contacts with Hamas in Gaza to urge them to comply with international humanitarian law” – this was how the government explained its policy in 2017, when the call to ban Hamas first emerged in the Swiss parliament.

More More Swiss parliament approves a five-year ban on Hamas

This content was published on Dec 11, 2024 Hamas will become a banned group in Switzerland for five years.

Read more: Swiss parliament approves a five-year ban on Hama

Even then, the government emphasised the importance of good offices in its foreign policy. It also justified its so-called contact policy with Hamas by saying Switzerland's engagement“is aimed at preventing violent extremism”.

This didn't work. In 2023 Hamas committed the massacre of October 7 in Israel, the worst pogrom against Jews since the Holocaust. Hamas members killed 1,200 people and abducted 250. It said such attacks would be repeated until Israel was destroyed.

After that, dialogue was over – also for Switzerland. Under pressure from parliament, the government imposed a ban on Hamas. Parliament has now sealed this law.

Diplomats are concerned

For Switzerland this is a departure from its previous doctrine. It banned al-Qaeda and the Islamic State, and that was that. Until then, the neutral country had merely adopted the existing UN bans when it came to sanctioning terrorist organisations. That is what its law requires. Hamas, however, is not on the UN terror list. This is why Switzerland first had to create a special law to be able to overturn its own self-imposed prohibition policy.

This should now remain an exception.“We don't want to create an automatic ban,” says one politician involved in security.

MENAFN11122024000210011054ID1108982592

Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.