Rhino: Agencies – The Swiss parliament on Tuesday passed a ban on the Lebanese group Hezbollah in a rare move by the neutral country that has traditionally pursued a policy of promoting international dialogue and mediation.

Supporters of the ban, passed by the lower house of parliament after approval by the Senate last week, said Hezbollah was a threat to international security and that Switzerland needed to ban it in order to take a stand against “terrorism”.

The Swiss government opposed the ban. “If Switzerland now moves to ban such organizations with special laws, we have to ask ourselves where and how the controls are put in place,” Justice Minister Piet Jans said during parliamentary debates.

The House of Representatives passed the ban on the Lebanese group with 126 votes in favor, 20 against and 41 abstentions. The security policy committee that proposed the ban said Switzerland’s mediation role would remain thanks to a specific clause related to peace talks and humanitarian aid.

Last week, the Swiss parliament banned the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) for the attacks it led on October 7, 2023, on Israel.

Switzerland had previously banned only al-Qaeda and the Islamic State, which are on the United Nations list of terrorist organizations.