The Federal Council Will Ban Radical Islamic Hamas in Switzerland
Published: Wednesday, Oct 11th 2023, 18:10
Mise à jour le : Vendredi, 13 octobre 2023, 14:12
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The Swiss Federal Council has announced that it will create a task force to investigate the legal options for banning the Palestinian organisation Hamas following recent attacks on Israel. The Security Policy Commission of the National Council (SIK-N) has unanimously called for a ban on Hamas. Currently, the Islamic State and Al-Qaeda are the only organisations legally banned in Switzerland. If someone is found to be propagating, supporting or otherwise promoting terrorist or violent-extremist activities, they can be punished with a prison sentence of up to five years or a fine. Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis has said that a similar approach to Al-Qaeda could be taken with Hamas. The Federal Council has condemned the attacks on the Israeli civilian population as "shocking" and called for the immediate release of hostages held by Hamas. The Swiss government has also stated that it is not aware of any indications that Swiss funds have been used to benefit Hamas and its activities. The University of Bern has also suspended a lecturer who expressed positive views of the Hamas attack in two online posts. Swiss Airlines will also be conducting a third special flight from Zurich to Tel Aviv and back on Thursday. The flight is only available to book via a special hotline communicated by the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs to Swiss citizens in Israel. The Swiss government is not organising an organised departure of Swiss nationals from Israel. Prior to the Hamas attack, around 28,000 Swiss citizens were registered in Israel and the Palestinian territories.
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