Finland will not renew its multi-year funding agreement with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) when the current pact expires this year, Finnish Foreign Trade Minister Ville Tavio announced on Thursday. According to Tavio, the decision shifts humanitarian aid for Palestinian territories to other organizations, such as the World Food Programme (WFP), while maintaining overall funding levels.
Timeline of Finland’s Funding Decisions and UNRWA Allegations
The expiring multi-year agreement was signed in March 2023 and included a total contribution of 20 million euros to UNRWA, following a 2019–2022 agreement where Finland provided 5 million euros annually. According to reports from Daily Finland, that 2023 agreement was established during the term of the previous alliance government led by the Social Democratic Party of Finland (SDP).
Tavio previously ordered Finland to suspend contributions to UNRWA in January 2024. At the time, Tavio asserted in a press release that his country “must make sure that not a single euro of Finland’s money goes to Hamas or other terrorists” and urged that allegations be thoroughly investigated. Those initial suspensions followed accusations that 12 UNRWA employees participated in Hamas’s October 7, 2023, massacre against Israel.
Finland reinstated the funding in March 2024. Tavio cited alleged UN efforts to improve agency oversight as the reason for continuing contributions, though he acknowledged at the time that faults in UNRWA’s risk management remained and that information regarding employee ties to Hamas had not been fully uncovered. According to Daily Finland, UNRWA provided Finland with bilateral assurances that misconduct would be tackled with enhanced effectiveness.
Reactions and Broader International Context
Following Tavio’s Thursday announcement, Israel’s Foreign Ministry welcomed the decision in an English-language social media post, as reported by JFeed. “Israel welcomes Finland’s decision to end its multi-year funding to UNRWA,” the ministry wrote. “Good to see more countries recognizing the undeniable truth, in light of the conclusive evidence of UNRWA employees’ involvement in the October 7 massacre and UNRWA’s inseparable links to Hamas.” The Israeli statement added that “UNRWA is a hub for terror. It is part of the problem, not part of the solution.”
Finland’s Foreign Ministry echoed similar sentiments in an X post on Friday, stating that it is good to see nations recognizing what it termed the undeniable truth of employee involvement in the October 7 massacre. The ministry characterized UNRWA as a “hotbed of terrorism” that remains part of the problem.
Ongoing Investigations and Potential Next Steps
Since the initial 2024 allegations, UNRWA has faced additional accusations and investigations. Investigations have uncovered that numerous employees took part in the October 7 massacre and kept connections with terrorist groups like Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ). In the most recent development, the US State Department suggested that three UNRWA employees face disbarment due to their involvement in the assault and their roles in detaining hostages.
According to the US Agency for International Development’s Office of Inspector General, those three staffers were former school teachers. Two are alleged to be Hamas terrorists involved in taking and holding hostages, while the third was identified as a PIJ terrorist accused of infiltrating Israel during the massacre.
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