Switzerland to close inactive Geneva branch of US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation

Switzerland says it will close the Geneva branch of the US- and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation because it had neither a Swiss address nor a representative in the country.

An officially private effort with opaque funding, the GHF began operations on May 26 after Israel halted supplies into Gaza for more than two months. Its operations have been marred by chaotic scenes and near-daily reports of mass casualty incidents.

The GHF is based in the US state of Delaware, with a subsidiary registered in Geneva.

In the Swiss Official Gazette of Commerce, the Swiss Federal Supervisory Authority for Foundations (ESA) publishes “a call for creditors following the liquidation” of the GHF.

The ESA can “order the dissolution of the foundation if no creditor comes forward within the legal period of 30 days,” an interior ministry spokeswoman tells AFP.

“The GHF confirmed to the ESA that it had never been active in Switzerland and that it intended to dissolve the Geneva-registered foundation,” she adds.

The Geneva subsidiary “was failing to comply with certain legal obligations,” the spokeswoman says, adding that the ESA had asked the GHF to clarify the situation by the end of June.

She says there were five shortcomings: the foundation did not have a board member authorized to sign documents domiciled in Switzerland; it did not have the minimum three board members; it did not have an account in Switzerland; or a valid address; or an auditing body.