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The Federal Council wants to ban Hamas by law
The Federal Council has made several decisions on how to deal with Hamas.
- The Federal Council wants to ban the radical Islamic Palestinian organization Hamas with a law. He made that decision on Wednesday. This is the best solution in the current situation. According to the Federal Council, such a law would give authorities the necessary tools to take action against Hamas activities or support for the organization in Switzerland.
- At the same time, the Federal Council is ending its cooperation with three Palestinian non-governmental organizations (NGOs). The reason for this is that non-conformities have been noted with regard to the code of conduct and the contractual anti-discrimination clause. The Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) investigated a total of eleven NGOs that are partners in the Middle East cooperation program. No irregularities were found at eight NGOs. Six Palestinian and five Israeli NGOs were audited. The Federal Council did not mention the names or reasons for the closure of the three Palestinian NGOs involved in the communication.
- So far, no irregularities have been found in the investigation of financial flows related to the Swiss partner NGOs. (SDA)
Cassis: End cooperation with three NGOs
Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis will now take over. He talks about the termination of three Palestinian NGOs. The reason is breach of contract with regard to the code of conduct and the anti-discrimination clause.
Justice Minister Baume-Schneider begins
Minister of Justice Elisabeth Baume-Schneider begins. After a detailed discussion, the conclusion was reached to ban Hamas by law. There are three reasons for this: strengthening criminal prosecution, improving preventive police measures and combating the financing of terrorism. Business relations with Hamas should always be reported in the future, Baume-Schneider says.
The law must be established through the normal process. Your department will prepare a first draft at the end of February.
Media conference at 2:30 p.m
The media conference with Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis and Justice Minister Elisabeth Baume-Schneider starts at 2:30 p.m.
On Wednesday afternoon, federal council members Ignazio Cassis (62) and Elisabeth Baume-Schneider (59) appeared before the media in Bern. They will comment on the legal and political options for action against Hamas.
The state government had already decided at the beginning of October that it wanted to ban Hamas. However, she wanted to consider legal action first. Meanwhile, the two security committees of the National Council and the Council of States have also spoken out in favor of banning the Palestinian Hamas organization and submitted proposals accordingly.
Last week, several media outlets, including Blick, reported that Foreign Minister Cassis wanted to ban Hamas through a special law. This would shorten the regular legislative process. With a ban, Switzerland could take action against all Hamas activities. For example, it would be possible to criminalize propaganda support to Hamas.
Blick reports on the media conference live in the stream and in the ticker.
Source:Blick
I am Liam Livingstone and I work in a news website. My main job is to write articles for the 24 Instant News. My specialty is covering politics and current affairs, which I’m passionate about. I have worked in this field for more than 5 years now and it’s been an amazing journey. With each passing day, my knowledge increases as well as my experience of the world we live in today.
