"Activists, diplomats and politicians gathered inside the Federal Council Hall in Bern on Tuesday to present a petition to launch a national referendum calling for Switzerland to officially recognise the State of Palestine. Under Swiss law, citizens can force a binding national vote by collecting 100,000 signatures within 18 months - a threshold that organisers believe they could reach in just weeks. If successful, this would make Switzerland the first country to recognise Palestine through a grassroots movement, as opposed to government decree. “In 2003, Switzerland was a midwife in the Geneva Initiative, in which recognised Israeli and Palestinian experts agreed on all the details of a two-state solution. In 2012, it voted in favour of observer status for the state of Palestine in the UN. Because majorities in the Federal Council and Parliament have broken with this tried and tested policy,” said former Ambassador Didier Pfirter. "We have no choice but to make use of the right of initiative. In this way, the people can decide whether Switzerland should stand up for fair compensation by recognising a Palestinian state and support the end of the occupation of the Palestinian territories and the Palestinians' right to self-determination as demanded by the International Court of Justice,” he continued. “Why has Switzerland not recognised the state of Palestine, as 158 countries worldwide have already done,” Green Party President Lisa Mazzone said. "In view of Switzerland's decades-long commitment to a two-state solution, recognition of the state of Palestine is the only credible and consistent stance." As of September 2025, at least 157 of the 193 member states of the United Nations have recognised Palestine as a sovereign state — representing over 80% of all member states."