Mié, Oct 11th 2023
The Swiss Security Policy Commission of the National Council (SIK-N) has reacted to the attack on Israel by proposing to ban Hamas and consider sanctions against it.
The two proposals were unanimously approved and calls for a report to be made to show the consequences of the ban. The motion does not specify how the Swiss government should implement the ban on Hamas.
After the recent attacks by Hamas on Israel, the Swiss government and parliament have been urged to take a clear stance and set an example. The Commission has stated that Hamas has discredited itself with its “inhuman and radically destructive attacks and justifications”.
The SIK-N has requested a report to examine the consequences of a ban on Hamas, including preventing the organization from receiving support from Switzerland or using the Swiss financial system. Legally, only the Islamic State and Al-Qaeda are currently banned in Switzerland, and those found guilty of propagating these organizations can be punished with a prison sentence of up to five years or a fine.
Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis has stated that a similar approach to Al-Qaeda could be taken against Hamas.
The SVP, FDP and GLP have all explicitly supported the ban, and the Greens have welcomed the move.
So far, there have been no reports of Swiss casualties, but the Swiss government is looking into a video that mentions Swiss hostages.
Swiss Airlines operated a special flight from Tel Aviv to Zurich on Tuesday evening, carrying 224 passengers.
The Airbus A321 had 215 seats, with 214 adults and children and 10 babies on board. One seat remained empty for unknown reasons, as the flight had been fully booked shortly after the evacuation flight was announced on Monday.
The flight was operated in cooperation with the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (EDA). Due to the high demand, a second special flight will take place on Wednesday.
On Tuesday evening, at the Münsterhof in Zurich, a solidarity demonstration, attracting over a thousand people, was held in support of the victims of the conflict, with a broad alliance of Jewish and other organisations, and the support of the Reformed Church.
The Israelite Cultusgemeinde Zurich called for the demonstration, which was supported by a broad alliance of Jewish and other organizations. People carried Swiss and Israeli flags and some had homemade cardboard signs with slogans such as “Free Gaza from Hamas” and “Stop Terrorists”.
©Keystone/SDA
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