Finland has decided not to renew its multi-year funding agreement with UNRWA, worth millions of euros, according to The Zioneer. Finnish Foreign Trade Minister Ville Tavio previously suspended contributions to the agency in 2024 over allegations that UNRWA employees participated in the October 7 Hamas-led massacre.
Finland's decision not to renew its multi-year funding agreement with UNRWA follows an earlier suspension of contributions by Finnish Foreign Trade Minister Ville Tavio in 2024, over allegations that agency employees took part in the Hamas-led October 7, 2023 massacre. The current agreement, worth millions of euros, will lapse.
Finland joins a growing list of donor nations that have reassessed financial support for UNRWA since evidence emerged of the agency's infiltration by Hamas operatives. As The Zioneer has reported, a USAID Office of Inspector General investigation formally identified 101 current and former UNRWA employees as affiliated with Hamas, with some actively participating in the October 7 attacks. That referral led the US to seek suspension or debarment of those individuals, and prompted several countries — including the UK and Canada — to adjust their funding under heightened scrutiny.
UNRWA has faced sustained criticism over its neutrality, with Israeli officials and some US lawmakers calling for the agency to be dismantled or replaced. In July, reports indicated UNRWA quietly dismissed 70 Gaza employees linked to terror groups. Finland's decision adds further financial pressure on an agency heavily reliant on voluntary donor contributions for its operations in Gaza, Judea and Samaria, and across the region.
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