Finland suspends funding for UN agency for Palestine refugees

Finland on Saturday decided to suspend funding for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) following allegations of the involvement of its 12 employees in the attacks on Israel by Hamas on October 7 last year.

Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Ville Tavio has decided that Finland's payments to UNRWA will be suspended due to the allegations, said the Ministry for Foreign Affairs in a press release on Saturday.

“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,” Tavio said in the press release.

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 about 28,000 Palestinians.

Finland has a four-year agreement (2023–2026) with UNRWA to provide humanitarian assistance, amounting to EUR 5 million a year.

The United States and Canada on Friday announced a temporary suspension of their new funding for the UNRWA after Israel accused some of the UN agency's employees of participating in the attack launched by Hamas on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, reported Xinhua.

On Saturday, Australia announced that it would join the U.S. and Canada in pausing the funding for the UNRWA.

Meanwhile, the head of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) on Saturday condemned the decision of fund suspension taken by nine countries over alleged involvement in Hamas attacks in Israel.

Commissioner General of UNRWA Philippe Lazzarini in a statement also urged the countries to reconsider their decision, said UNRWA in a press release on Saturday.