Swiss government rejects Hezbollah ban

The Federal Council does not want to ban Hezbollah in Switzerland Keystone-SDA

The Swiss government has rejected demands from two parliamentary security policy commissions to ban Hezbollah. The group does not meet the same conditions as Hamas, the Federal Council says.

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Hezbollah should be put on the same footing as Hamas, according to the Senate committee. After the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, Hezbollah positioned itself as an ally of Hamas, added its counterpart in the House of Representatives.

The Federal Council pointed out that it does not have blanket powers to ban organisations. Such a ban is possible within the framework of the Intelligence Act, as was done for the Al-Qaeda and Islamic State groups.

In this scenario, two conditions must be met: the organisation must directly or indirectly propagate, support or promote terrorist activities or violent extremism, and it must be banned or sanctioned by the UN. However, the UN has not taken any decision concerning Hezbollah.

Translated from French by DeepL/mga

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