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Source: https://www.jpost.com/international/article-894630
Swiss National Council Votes Against Recognizing Palestinian State
(Jerusalem Post) Mathilda Heller - Switzerland's National Council, one house of its bicameral parliament, on Tuesday voted 116-66 against recognizing Palestine as a state, with 11 abstentions. The Foreign Affairs Committee of the National Council said that conditions are not yet in place to recognize a Palestinian state. It cited international law, which requires an independent and functioning government. The committee found that there is no functioning organization to govern Palestine. Erich Vontobel of the Swiss People's Party, Zurich, said, "Gaza remains under Hamas control. Hamas opposes peace, openly seeks Israel's destruction, and is classified by Switzerland as a terrorist organization....Meanwhile, the Palestinian Authority does not exercise unified and effective state authority over the entire territory." Furthermore, a majority of the committee believes recognition now would "run counter to Swiss neutrality and jeopardize Switzerland's role as mediator in seeking peace."