Hamas will be banned in Switzerland for five years. After the Council of States, the National accepted on Wednesday, by 168 votes to 6, a project from the Federal Council drawn up after the attack by the Islamist group on October 7, 2023. Some of the Greens abstained.
Switzerland must not remain inactive in the face of terror, argued Jacqueline de Quattro (PLR/VD) for the commission. It is about sending a signal of peace and protection of the population, added Dabid Zuberbühler (UDC/AR). And to estimate that Hamas represents a threat not only to the region but also to the world. “We must ensure that there is no support for Hamas in Switzerland.”
Humanitarian work not under threat
MPs from all sides condemned the “atrocities” of October 7, 2023, which must not remain without consequences. However, for Fabian Molina (PS/ZH), the two-state solution must remain the objective. Switzerland must maintain a certain margin of maneuver and be able to enter into contact with all the actors in the conflict. Fabien Fivaz (Vert-es/NE) also spoke of the role to play of Switzerland in the reconstruction in the Gaza Strip.
The left sought to limit the scope of the ban, so as not to hinder the work of organizations active in particular in the promotion of peace and humanitarian aid.
The overly vague definition of support for Hamas had led the canton of Geneva, the PLR, left-wing parties and NGOs to ask that the exceptions to punishability be more explicit, so as to exclude humanitarian work. The Federal Council had not heard these grievances.
These activities will not be punishable, assured the Minister of Justice Beat Jans, noting that exceptions appear in the project. He was followed. The organizations serving as cover for Hamas, those which emanate from it, as well as the organizations and groups which act on its order or in its name are also targeted by the project.
As he wrote Timethis bill, which the Federal Council hopes will be useful for “the promotion of human rights and the peaceful coexistence of peoples”, constitutes a long-term marker of Swiss foreign policy. A “heavy precedent”, according to Geneva Call, a humanitarian organization aiming to protect civilians in armed conflicts, by which “Switzerland moves away from its historical practice of not keeping “black” lists of organizations terrorists beyond that assumed by the United Nations Security Council. With this consequence: “The certain diplomatic advantage that Switzerland currently enjoys compared to all its neighbors […] would definitely be lost.”
The Federal Council already decided on October 11, 2023 to qualify Hamas as a terrorist organization, following the Islamist group’s attacks. The two Chambers have each already adopted in December 2023 two motions also aimed at banning Hamas.
