Finland to suspend its funding to UNRWA

The allegations of the involvement of 12 employees of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) in the 7 October Hamas terrorist attack on Israel are serious. The Ministry for Foreign Affairs is calling for an independent and thorough investigation of the matter.

UNRWA is a humanitarian agency of the UN that provides basic public services, such as education, healthcare and social services, to Palestinian refugees. UNRWA employs approximately 28,000 Palestinians.

Finland has a four-year agreement (2023–2026) with UNRWA to provide humanitarian assistance, amounting to EUR 5 million a year. Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Ville Tavio has decided that Finland's payments to UNRWA will be suspended due to the allegations.

“We must make sure that not a single euro of Finland's money goes to Hamas or other terrorists. The suspicion that employees of an organisation receiving humanitarian assistance are involved in a terrorist attack is the reason for suspending the payments. The case must be investigated thoroughly,” Minister Tavio says.

Inquiries: Lauratuulia Lehtinen, Director, Unit for Humanitarian Assistance and Policy, Ministry for Foreign Affairs, tel. +358 46 921 2030