Switzerland does not Recognize Hezbollah as a Terrorist Organization

In October 2022, after an in-depth two years study, Switzerland declared that it does not consider Hezbollah a terrorist organization and that its actions are not terrorist activities.

The report was written for the Swiss government as part of the decision-making process and, following German and Israeli pressure that began in 2020, to define Hezbollah as a terrorist organization, as Germany did that year.

The report was written for government officials (, encouraged by the Christian Democratic Party, and published by the local television network SwissInfo.

The report concludes that the murderous organization does not act against the financial sector in the country, is not engaged in raising terrorist funds in the country, and does not hold terrorist funds in it to support its military arm.

The report reviewed the history of the Lebanese terrorist organization, the process of its establishment, and its political, religious, and military background. The report even pointed to the presence of Hezbollah members in the country, describing that no evidence was found of possible ties, political or family, of those people with the organization in Lebanon.

Beyond that, the report describes that only a limited number of operating religious centers in the country are linked to Hezbollah and are only engaged in collecting donations for their ongoing operation. According to the report, in these centers, there are no new volunteers recruited for the organization. Moreover, the rhetoric and the sermons in the religious centers are directed only against Israel, which is fine and acceptable.

The study determined that Hezbollah's security threat to Switzerland is very low - politically, economically, and security-wise. As the report states, it is reasonable to assume that Hezbollah would not choose Switzerland as its operational center.

On the other hand, the detailed study states that if the country decides to impose sanctions on the Hezbollah organization, this is expected to damage the country's reputation as a humanitarian and peace-loving country, with an emphasis on Switzerland's activities and contributions in Lebanon. Moreover, the report justified the terror organization's military activity in southern Lebanon and its opposition to Israel.

Despite the sanctions imposed by the European Union on the military wing of Hezbollah due to the terrorist activities it carries out, Switzerland decided that there is no evidence that the military wing of Hezbollah is a terrorist organization and decided not to outlaw and ban it.