Neutral Switzerland, Hamas, Hezbollah Banned Activities

The Swiss parliament, a neutral country, has voted to ban Lebanese militant Hezbollah from operating in the country, following Palestinian militant Hamas.

On the 17th local time, the Swiss Federal House of Representatives voted 126 in favor, 20 against and 41 abstentions to ban Hezbollah from domestic activities.

Last week, the Federal Senate also approved the motion.

The Federal Parliament's Security Policy Committee, which wrote the motion, pointed out that Hezbollah, as an extremist Islamic terrorist organization, is responsible for numerous acts of violence and human rights violations.

Switzerland's Federal Parliament passed a motion last month to ban Hamas from domestic activities, and the two motions, which characterize Hezbollah and Hamas as illegal groups, will be transferred to the federal government for the measures needed to be implemented.

Switzerland has designated only Al Qaeda and the Islamic State (IS) as terrorist groups and banned domestic activities.

The Swiss government is determined to protect civilians and respect international law as key principles when deciding on the designation of terrorist groups or prohibition of activities in the future.