Finland suspends funding for UN agency serving Palestinians

The decision is in response to allegations that UN agency staff played a role in the Hamas attack on Israel last October.

UNRWA:n työntekijä jakamassa lääkkeitä Deir Al-Balahissa Gazassa.
A UNRWA worker distributing medicine in Deir Al-Balah in Gaza on 21 January, 2024. Image: Ashraf Amra / STELLA Pictures/ddp/abaca press
  • Yle News

Finland on Saturday said it was temporarily suspending its funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA).

The move follows accusations that 12 of the agency's employees may have been involved in the October 7 Hamas attacks on Israel.

Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Ville Tavio (Finns) decided that Finland's payments to UNRWA will be suspended due to the allegations, according to the Foreign Ministry.

"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 a ministry release.

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

The UN agency has launched a probe into staff accused of involvement in Hamas' attack.

The US, Canada, Australia and Italy have also paused funding for the organisation.

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