Switzerland is refusing to toe the Wet's line on sanctions against Iran -- and Israel is up in arms

Switzerland is refusing to toe the West's line on sanctions against

Iran – and Israel is up in arms



By Neil ClarkSwitzerland regards the recent destruction of Palestinian homes by

Israeli bulldozers, as "violations of international humanitarian law"

In an attack which shocked Tel Aviv by the harshness of its tone,

Switzerland has accused Israel of wantonly destroying Palestinian

homes in east Jerusalem and near Ramallah in violation of the Geneva

Convention's rules on military occupation.



It's arguably the strongest condemnation of Israeli policy towards the

Palestinians to come from any western European country since Charles

de Gaulle famously attacked the "oppression, repression and

expulsions" of Palestinians by Israel over 40 years ago. And it's come

from a country that's not exactly famous for making strong

condemnations.



The statement last Thursday from the Swiss Foreign Ministry said that

Switzerland - the guardian of the Geneva Convention - regards the

"recent incidents", under which scores of Palestinian homes have been

destroyed by Israeli bulldozers, as "violations of international

humanitarian law" and claimed there was "no military need to justify

the destruction of these houses".



Switzerland regards the recent destruction of Palestinian homes by

Israeli bulldozers, as "violations of international humanitarian law"



In addition, the Swiss called east Jerusalem an "integral part of the

occupied Palestinian territory" - a statement sure to inflame

hard-line Zionists who regard the entire city as belonging to Israel.



The Swiss attack on Israeli actions might surprise some, but it is

only the latest incident in a rising 'cold war' between the Alpine

republic and the Jewish state. Earlier this year, Israel summoned

Swiss Ambassador Walter Haffner to its Foreign Ministry offices in

Jerusalem to protest against Switzerland's signing of a multi-billion

dollar energy deal with Iran.



So incensed were Zionists when Swiss Foreign Minister Micheline

Calmy-Rey wore a headscarf and was pictured smiling and joking with

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in Tehran, that the

Anti-Defamation League placed a series of advertisements in various

national newspapers - including Swiss ones - which claimed that

Switzerland's energy deal with Iran made Switzerland the "world's

newest sponsor of terrorism". Calmy-Rey reacted angrily to Israel's

criticism, saying that Switzerland was "an independent country that

has its own strategic interests to defend".



It's possible to trace the deterioration of Swiss-Israeli relations to

1998, when Israel was compelled to write a formal letter of apology to

Switzerland after five Mossad agents were caught trying to install

surveillance equipment in an apartment in Berne in order to bug a

Swiss citizen whom Mossad believed was linked to Hezbollah.



In the intervening period Switzerland has become an increasingly vocal

champion of the Palestinian cause. As the Middle East conflict

escalated, the country even halted all arms sales and military

co-operation with Israel for three years in 2002.



Earlier this year, Switzerland was among the 30 countries who voted in

support of the UN Human Rights Council resolution that condemned

Israel for "grave violations of the human and humanitarian rights of

the Palestinian civilians living in Gaza".



It wasn't always like this. The Swiss-Israeli war of words is ironic

given the fact that the world's very first Zionist congress was held

in Basle in 1897 - and that 15 of the first 22 Zionist Congresses were

held in Switzerland.



The Swiss condemnation of Israel today may be dismissed by some as

having little global importance, but there are good reasons why Israel

ought to be concerned. As guarantor of the Geneva Convention,

Switzerland has the power to call meetings of the treaty's signatories

if it finds problems with its implementation - something which would

be very embarrassing for Israel.



And while it's one thing for Israel to be condemned by countries with

a poor human rights record such as Cuba and Saudi Arabia - it's quite

another for it to be criticised by a country whose record is beyond

reproach. The fact that Switzerland - the home of the Red Cross - has

not been involved in a military conflict for 200 years, gives the

country a moral authority that many others lack.



Switzerland's independent line on Middle East issues also shows the

advantage of maintaining national sovereignty in an age where most

countries in Europe have surrendered important decision making powers

to the EU. While other countries in Europe have been cajoled, under US

and British influence, to moderate their criticisms of Israel's

treatment of the Palestinians and to agree to swingeing sanctions on

Iran - non-EU Switzerland is free to make its own decisions and to say

what it thinks about Israeli actions.



It helps, too, that Switzerland is rich enough to follow its own path,

without fear of retribution. On this issue, Israel has come up against

a state which truly is beholden to nobody.