Switzerland announces its ban on Hamas will come into force on May 15

A new Swiss law banning Hamas and affiliated organizations will come into force on May 15, the government said on Wednesday, aiming to prevent the Palestinian terror group from using Switzerland as a safe haven.

The law, which was approved by parliament in December and came in the wake of Hamas’s October 7, 2023, onslaught in Israel, gives Swiss authorities “the necessary tools to take action against Hamas activities or support for the organization in Switzerland,” the government said.

The ban aims to punish Hamas for its assault, in which some 1,200 people were killed and 251 were taken hostage, and to prevent the group from using Switzerland as a safe haven or carrying out attacks in the country. For example, it makes entry bans or expulsions easier to arrange.

It will also help combat terror financing by allowing the Swiss anti-money laundering authorities to better exchange information with counterparts abroad, the government said.

Bern has sought to pass a ban on the terror organization since the October 7 attack, whose victims included two Swiss nationals. The government said it had done so in line with the practice of proscribing organizations on a case-by-case basis only “for extremely serious reasons.”

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

The Swiss parliament also voted to outlaw Hezbollah in December 2024. Proponents of the ban said the Iran-backed Lebanese terror group was a threat to international security and that Switzerland needed to prohibit it to take a stand against terrorism.

There have been calls in Switzerland to ban Hamas since 2017, but Bern had argued that by maintaining a channel of communication with Hamas, as they did for decades, the Swiss could exert pressure on Hamas to “comply with international humanitarian law,” according to Swiss media reports.

This policy seemed to end following the October 7 attacks, when calls mounted in Switzerland to ban both Hamas and Hezbollah, in a rare move for the traditionally neutral country that prides itself on its diplomacy and “talking to everyone.”

Switzerland had previously only banned al-Qaeda and Islamic State, merely adopting the United Nations’ bans on terrorist organizations. Hamas isn’t designated a terrorist organization by the UN, however, which required Switzerland to enact a special law to ban it.

The US banned Hamas in 1997, followed by Canada in 2002. The UK and Australia banned Hamas’s military wing in the early 2000s, along with several other countries, but they did not ban the entire organization until 2021 and 2022, respectively.

The European Union banned Hamas’s military wing in 2003, followed by a ban on the entire organization in 2015. However, implementation of these measures was left to EU member states. Other than Switzerland, Germany is the only member state that has enacted a comprehensive ban on Hamas, doing so in 2023 following the onslaught.

New Zealand and Argentina also implemented comprehensive bans on Hamas following the October 7 attack.