Switzerland probing Hamas financing

The Swiss judiciary is investigating possible financing of Hamas from Switzerland despite the country not classifying the group as a terrorist organization, its attorney general says.

The investigation was opened “several weeks” before the October 7 attacks by Hamas on Israel, Stefan Blaettler says, on Swiss public radio station SRF, without revealing further details.

The Attorney General’s office later tells AFP that the investigation was launched “on suspicion of financing Hamas from Switzerland”.

The investigation is expected to be laborious because, unlike the European Union and the United States, Switzerland has not placed bans on Hamas.

But since the attack, mounting calls for the Swiss government to take action has prompted it to respond.

Four days after the attack, the government said it was “of the opinion that Hamas must be classified a terrorist organization”.