Finland is ending its funding agreement with the UN agency UNRWA. Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Ville Tavio (Finns Party) has decided not to extend the agreement, which expires this year. The annual funding of five million euros will go to organisations including the World Food Programme.
Tavio wrote on X on Thursday that “the funding agreement between Finland and UNRWA that was concluded under the Social Democrats is expiring, and I have not extended it”. The agreement was concluded in 2023 under Sanna Marin’s government and covered the period 2023–2026. It secured UNRWA five million euros annually in humanitarian aid.
Twelve UNRWA employees took part in the 7 October attack on Israel
Like more than a dozen other countries, Finland suspended payments to UNRWA in January 2024. The reason was allegations that twelve of the organisation’s employees had been involved in Hamas’s attack on Israel on 7 October 2023. UNRWA dismissed the employees suspected of involvement.
Finland resumed its support in March 2024 following a review of the organisation’s procedures. Ten per cent of the funds were then earmarked for risk management and oversight.
Like Sweden, the current government has chosen to phase out direct support entirely. Tavio says that Finland is considering alternative channels, including the UN’s new reconstruction fund for Palestine.
Israel welcomes Finland’s decision to end its multi-year funding for UNRWA.
It is 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.… https://t.co/XPaxL5KNtg
— Israel Foreign Ministry (@IsraelMFA) August 28, 2026
UNRWA has been controversial for many years. The organisation provides education, health services and humanitarian assistance to Palestinians in Gaza, Judea and Samaria, Lebanon, Jordan and Syria, and employs around 28,000 people – mostly Palestinians.
The organisation’s close ties to Hamas have long been pointed out; schools and facilities have been used for military purposes and teaching materials are filled with anti-Jewish hate propaganda.
Israel has banned UNRWA on its own territory.
