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After Finnish Defence Minister Antti Hakkanen’s trip to Israel, Finnish MPs initiated a parliamentary vote of confidence challenging the government.
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Opposition parties have accused the right-wing government of internal policy differences and inconsistency on the Middle East, leading the Social Democratic Party (SDP) to call for a motion of no confidence against the government.
A motion of no confidence had also been tabled against Defence Minister Antti Hakkanen.
Hakkanen won the confidence vote by 114 votes to 61, while the government survived by 93 votes to 62.
Criticism over meeting Israel Katz
The criticism followed Hakkanen’s September visit to Lebanon and Israel, where he met Israeli counterpart Israel Katz and discussed defence cooperation, including Finland’s acquisition of the David’s Sling air-defence system under an agreement signed in November 2023.
Katz, known for making controversial remarks, said in September it was only a matter of time before his country would “finish the job” in Gaza and move to force out its two million Palestinians.
Finnish opposition parties have also criticised Hakkanen for not meeting with Palestinian representatives.
It remained unclear “whether Minister Hakkanen raised Israel’s violations of international law during the trip”, SDP said in a statement last Sunday.
The defence minister, meanwhile, has argued his visit was necessary to safeguard Finland’s security — an assessment opposition parties have taken issue with.
Hakkanen had cancelled his participation in the Joint Expeditionary Force defence ministers’ meeting held in Iceland on Friday due to the confidence vote.
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