Swiss Senate rejects sanctions against Israeli settlers
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Swiss Senate rejects sanctions against Israeli settlers
The Swiss Senate has rejected a call for Switzerland to join the EU’s sanctions against violent Israeli settlers. The majority also did not want an end to military cooperation with Israel.
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On Monday the Senate rejected four of five demands in a motion by Carlo Sommaruga from the left-wing Social Democratic Party by a clear majority. The framework for this was provided by an extraordinary session on the conflict in the Gaza Strip requested by the Social Democrats and the Greens.
The Senate accepted only the demand that the government should campaign for the release of all Israeli hostages and political prisoners. It must also campaign for humanitarian access to the Gaza Strip and against the most serious crimes in this war. The House of Representatives has yet to decide on this.
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However, the Senate rejected the adoption of EU sanctions against violent Jewish settlers in occupied Palestinian territory. It also said no to the demand to end military cooperation with Israel, according to which Swiss war materiel and dual-use goods should no longer be supplied to the country.
Furthermore, the motion called for the free trade agreement with Israel to be suspended as long as the country violates international law. Finally, the motion calls for the obligation to label products from areas “occupied by Israel in violation of international law” in the West Bank and the Golan Heights.
Measures and pressure are needed to get Israel to respect international law and change its behaviour, said Sommaruga.
The government spoke out against the motion.
Translated from German by DeepL/ts
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