Yasser Abed Rabbo, head of the Palestinian delegation, together with Swiss Foreign Minister Micheline Calmy-Rey, and the chief of Israeli delegation, Yossi Beilin, (from left to right), during the signing ceremony for the Geneva Accord, in Switzerland in December 2003.
Keystone/Sandro Campardo
Switzerland is to withdraw its financial support for a conflict settlement between Israeli and Palestinian civil societies.
This content was published on
1 minute
swissinfo.ch/urs
Español
es
Suiza suspende la financiación de la Iniciativa de Ginebra
The foreign ministry said it decided to phase out its funding by 2024 following an external evaluation, saying the Geneva Initiative was important in the beginning but its effectiveness and impact diminished over the past two decades.
It also lacked political backing both from Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory, according to a statementExternal link released on Tuesday.
Switzerland has contributed about CHF18 million ($19.7 million) to the initiative since its launch in 2003. From 2009 it gradually reduced its annual financial support from CHF1 million to CHF180,000 last year.
The Geneva Initiative led to the Geneva AccordExternal link nearly 20 years ago and is considered a reference document to show options for a two-state solution between Israel and Palestine.
The Swiss foreign ministry said it remains committed to promoting peace in the Middle East and it would allocate the funding for the Geneva Initiative to other similar efforts as of next year.
This content was published on
The UN Human Rights Council approved the launch of this mechanism in Geneva on Friday, to be followed by an International Commission of Inquiry.
More than 100 wolves shot in Switzerland last year
This content was published on
Swiss hunters legally killed 101 wolves between February 1, 2024, and the end of January 2025. A further six died in accidents or from natural causes.
Swiss health office turns to Bluesky against backdrop of US censorship
This content was published on
The Swiss Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH) has joined the Bluesky social network, while US President Donald Trump works with X owner Elon Musk to censor content on official US websites.
Biotech company BioVersys is first Swiss IPO of 2025
This content was published on
The Basel-based biotech company BioVersys made the first initial public offering (IPO) of the year in Switzerland on Friday.
Much more spent on Swiss motorway vote campaigns than budgeted
This content was published on
Opponents and supporters of motorway expansion spent over CHF10 million ($11 million) on their campaigns, around a third more than announced in November.
Swiss researchers monitor animal populations with AI microphone
This content was published on
Researchers in Lausanne are using an intelligent microphone to make the animal world audible. The microphone automatically records animal sounds over large areas and analyses them using AI.
Three employees of Swiss aid organisation killed in DRC
This content was published on
Three employees of the Swiss Protestant Reformed Church (Heks) have been killed in an attack in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). They were on a humanitarian mission in the crisis region.
This content was published on
All our waters today are pure at source," Muriel Lienau, general manager of Nestlé Waters, told AFP after press revelations.
Switzerland concerned about impact of US withdrawal from WHO
This content was published on
Switzerland has expressed concern about the loss of American experts and the freezing of contracts due to the announced withdrawal of the US from the World Health Organization (WHO).
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.
Read more
More
Swiss back efforts to revive Middle East peace process
This content was published on
“We are ready to contribute to this new dynamic towards a just and long-lasting peace … which is based on a negotiated two-state solution,” he declared at the opening of an international conference in Paris on Friday. France convened foreign ministers from major powers to try to put Israeli-Palestinian peace-making back on the international agenda…
This content was published on
Officials at the Swiss Foreign Ministry confirmed that they had sounded out interested parties. They refused to name their contacts, but they are understood to have been in touch with – among others – Israeli, Palestinian and American diplomats. “We are not being selective in our approach. We want to contact all actors playing an…
This content was published on
Dubbed the “Geneva Accord”, the initiative is the brainchild of Swiss academic, Alexis Keller. Six weeks after wrapping up secret negotiations in Jordan, the signatories to the Geneva Accord will officially publish the document at a ceremony in the lakeside city. The launch of the peace plan marks a return to the initiative’s source, because…
This content was published on
A senior Swiss foreign ministry official, Thomas Greminger, confirmed the existence of the so-called “Swiss document” on Thursday, which dates back to 2006. Over the past few days, former Palestinian Foreign Minister and top Hamas official Mahmoud al-Zahar and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who is also known as Abu Mazen, have publicly discussed the existence…
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.