The Swiss government has opted not to pursue a law banning activities and support for Hezbollah, despite previously drafting legislation to prohibit Hamas activities and support for the group, AFP reported on Thursday.
While parliamentary security policy committees had called for a ban on Hezbollah, the federal government announced that the conditions for such a measure had not been met.
The Swiss Federal Council explained that under the country's intelligence act, a ban on Hezbollah would require prior sanctions or a prohibition imposed by the United Nations.
"Bans on organizations must continue to follow this political line," it stated, adding that it was "not appropriate" to create a new law specifically targeting Hezbollah.
The government justified its decision to ban Hamas, citing the "unprecedented terrorist attacks" of October 7, 2023. It emphasized that bans on organizations are imposed on a case-by-case basis only "for extremely serious reasons."
The security committee of the lower house of parliament had argued that "like Hamas, Hezbollah is a radical Islamic terrorist organization responsible for numerous acts of violence and human rights violations" and "represents a threat to the stability of the entire region." It called for a "comprehensive ban on Hezbollah."
Parliament is set to review the government's stance during its December 2-20 session and will also vote on the proposed law to ban Hamas, reported Swiss news agency Keystone-ATS. The draft legislation includes a five-year ban on Hamas.
In recent years, several countries in the world have in recent years blacklisted Hezbollah.
In March of 2019, the British government designated Hezbollah as a terrorist organization.
In November of 2020, Slovenia joined the list of countries to blacklist Hezbollah as a terrorist organization.
Also that year, Germany issued a federal order outlawing Hezbollah in the country, and also took enforcement measures under the provisions of the order.
In 2021, the Liguria Regional Council in Italy designated Hezbollah in its entirety as a terrorist organization.
Later that year, Australia listed all of Hezbollah as a "terrorist organization", extending an existing ban on the group’s military wing to the entire organization.