Finland's government survives confidence vote after Israel visit row

Finland's government on Friday survived a parliamentary vote of confidence called over the government's Middle East policy following a criticised visit to Israel by the defence minister.

After Finnish Defence Minister Antti Hakkanen's trip to Israel, Finnish MPs initiated a parliamentary vote of confidence challenging the government.

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.

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.

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