In addition to the Palestinian terrorist organization Hamas, the Lebanese Hezbollah is also to be banned in Switzerland. The Federal Council has passed a corresponding draft law – at the request of Parliament.
June 12, 2026, 3:04 p.mJune 12, 2026, 3:04 p.m
At the end of 2024, parliament passed the Hamas ban. At that time, both councils also spoke out in favor of banning the Lebanese Hezbollah. The implementation of the corresponding motion is now taking shape. Interested parties can comment on this until October 5th, as the Federal Council announced on Friday.
Naim Kassim, the new head of Hezbollah.Image: www.imago-images.de
The ban should also include Hezbollah’s front and successor organizations as well as organizations and groups that act on behalf of or in the name of Hezbollah. The Federal Council wrote that the organization was responsible for numerous acts of violence and human rights violations. She poses a serious threat.
According to the current situation report from the Federal Intelligence Service (NDB), Hezbollah maintains a network of people in Switzerland. Some of these people could be activated for terrorist activities. The threat level depends on the intensity of the conflict between Israel, Iran and their opponents.
Hezbollah operates as a paramilitary and political power in Lebanon. For years it has been bombarding northern Israel with rockets, guided missiles and drones from Lebanon. Immediately after the Hamas terrorist attack on October 7, 2023, Hezbollah positioned itself as an ally of Hamas and intensified the shelling of Israel.
Prevention and repression
The Federal Council should therefore in future ban organizations and groups as terrorist organizations that are particularly close to Hezbollah and agree with it in terms of objectives, leadership or means. According to the state government, the ban has both a preventive and repressive effect.
The ban reduces the risk that these terrorist organizations will use Switzerland as a safe haven and carry out terrorist activities on Swiss territory. The ban would allow law enforcement authorities to take measures such as entry bans or expulsions more easily and efficiently.
According to the Federal Council, the ban also makes it easier to provide criminal evidence because the ban creates clarity and more legal certainty for law enforcement authorities. In addition, the Money Laundering Reporting Office (MROS) can more easily exchange information with foreign partner authorities about financial flows suspected of terrorist financing.
Anyone who violates the Hezbollah ban should be punished with up to ten years in prison for acts of support and influential people with up to twenty years in prison.
The Federal Council was originally against it
Because the reason for the ban on organizations is a specific event, namely the terrorist attack by Hamas on October 7, 2023 and the resulting escalation between Hezbollah and Israel, the Federal Council considers it obvious and sensible to ban Hamas and Hezbollah in one and the same specific law, as he writes. There are factual and local connections between the two organizations. This ensures the uniformity and coherence of the two bans.
According to the Federal Council, the period of validity of the Hamas ban in Switzerland, which has been in force for a year, should also be extended from five to ten years. Without adjusting the period of validity, the ban on Hezbollah would have a relatively short remaining term, the Federal Council wrote. Because it is foreseeable that the conflict in the Middle East will continue for a long time due to its extent, an extension is advisable.
The Federal Council had always emphasized that the Hamas ban should remain an exception. A transition to a culture of prohibition, in which actual lists of terrorist organizations are drawn up, threatens to weaken Switzerland’s role as a mediator in armed conflicts. (dab/sda)