Zurich Cantonal Council wants “no taxpayers’ money for terrorists”
Keystone-SDA
Zurich cantonal parliament has voted against recognising the state of Palestine. However, it has provisionally supported a motion calling for “no taxpayers’ money for terrorists”, with 77 votes in favour.
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The individual initiative “No tax money for terrorists” was not explicitly directed against an organisation, it said on Monday. However, the canton and municipalities would have to scrutinise the recipients according to sanctions lists or bans by democratic states, for example.
Susanne Brunner from the right-wing Swiss People’s Party spoke of a “self-evident fact”. Mario Senn from the centre-right Radical-Liberal Party also found the proposal sensible. “State payments should be as transparent as possible,” he said.
Nicola Siegrist from the left-wing Social Democratic Party read between the lines that the UN’s Palestinian Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) was meant. The city of Zurich donated to UNRWA last year. A ban would contribute to the humanitarian disaster in Gaza, said Siegrist. A new law would not be expedient, said Andrea Gisler from the centrist Liberal Green Party, even though she criticised the City of Zurich’s payment.
“Why don’t you respect the democratic decision of the Zurich municipal council,” said Thomas Forrer from the left-wing Greens. Priska Hänni-Mathis from the Centre Party considered the request to be legitimate but did not see the initiative as a practical solution. The public debate worked, she said, and there was no need for an “additional control apparatus”.
+ Why Switzerland doesn’t recognise Palestine as a state
Recognition of Palestine
The conflict in the Middle East was also the subject of a second motion. Two citizens called for Palestine to be recognised as a state with an individual initiative.
Social Democrat Mandy Abou Shoak referred to the situation in Gaza. Researchers said that what was happening there met the criteria of genocide. “The canton is not the right level, but the war concerns many people,” she said. She saw the recognition as a signal in favour of the two-state solution.
The People’s Party, Centre Party, Liberal Greens and Radical-Liberals referred their rejection to the federal government, which is responsible for foreign policy. With 47 votes in favour, support was not forthcoming.
Translated from German by DeepL/ts
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