Conflicts: Should neutral Switzerland be more proactive?
After the deadly attack by Hamas against Israel on October 7, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared his country was “at war” with the Palestinian militant group. The overall death toll from the Israeli and Palestinian sides is estimated at almost 3,000 and continues to rise.
This latest escalation in the Middle East conflict reinforces the impression of a world struggling with a growing number of violent crises. Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine has been going on for over a year and a half. In September, Azerbaijan began a military offensive to conquer the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh.
With each new conflict, Switzerland’s policy of neutrality finds itself under pressure. The war in Ukraine, for example, and the issue of exports of Swiss-made war materiel has sparked controversy both within Switzerland and abroad. In the conflict between Israeli and Palestinians, Switzerland has made clear that it considers Israeli settlements illegal under international law, in particular the Fourth Geneva Convention. Now, in the current Israeli-Palestinian war, Switzerland’s ties to Hamas have been called into question.
On Wednesday, the Swiss government strongly condemned Hamas for its “acts of terror” and declared the militant group should be classified as a terror organisation. A special taskforce will study the legal options for banning the organisation. But this will not be simple. A ban will have consequences for humanitarian aid, peace negotiations and the Swiss financial sector, as you can read in the following article.
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How easy is it for Switzerland to declare Hamas a terrorist organisation?
What would a ban of Hamas achieve? Is this the right thing to do? Should neutral Switzerland be more proactive during conflicts? We want to know your opinions on these important questions. With its “dialogue” service, the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SBC), SWI swissinfo.ch’s parent company offers you a thematic selection of articles on current armed conflicts and the role of Switzerland. With content from all over Switzerland, translated into the four national languages and English.
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