Swiss foreign minister says Israel’s reaction should be ‘proportionate’
Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis said on Friday that Israel had the right to defend itself following a deadly attack by Palestinian militant group Hamas but said its response should be “proportionate”.
“What we are doing is calling for international humanitarian law to be respected while recognising Israel’s legitimate right to defence,” Cassis told a news briefing in response to a question about a possible ground invasion of the Gaza strip.
“They need to find a proportionate response,” he said.
Cassis opened the briefing by announcing the death of a Swiss dual national aged nearly 70 in the violence. He did not give details beyond saying the individual was killed by “terrorists”.
+ Swiss man among victims of Hamas attack on Israel
Switzerland, which sometimes acts as a neutral intermediary between parties to a conflict, does not have any contact with Hamas, he said. “It is not the time now for good offices. It is now a time of war,” he said.
He added that the Swiss government views Hamas as a “terrorist organisation”. It is currently exploring whether and how to make that legally binding, possibly by banning the group.
+ How easy is it for Switzerland to declare Hamas a terrorist organisation?
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