Palestinian Textbooks Still Incite Hatred Despite Promised Reforms

Ongoing Concerns Over Palestinian Authority’s Educational Materials

The Palestinian Authority’s educational curriculum for the 2025-2026 academic year remains a subject of intense scrutiny, as a comprehensive review by the Institute for Monitoring Peace and Cultural Tolerance in School Education (IMPACT-SE) reveals no significant reforms have been made to remove incendiary content. Despite earlier commitments to modify the curriculum, the report highlights its continued failure to align with UNESCO standards of peace and tolerance.

IMPACT-SE’s latest report is the first exhaustive analysis since its previous study in May 2021. It underscores the unaltered state of educational materials, which perpetuate themes of antisemitism, glorification of violence, and rejection of Israel’s legitimacy.

Despite promises by both the Palestinian Authority and the European Union to reform educational content for Grades 1-4 and Grade 12, the curriculum remains largely unchanged since 2021, with only superficial alterations in formatting instead of substantive content removal.

In 2024, the European Union agreed to restore funding to the Palestinian Authority, signing a Letter of Intent which entailed a commitment to significant curriculum reforms. Over €400 million ($462 million) was transferred following this agreement. However, discrepancies emerged, as PA officials conveyed different messages in Arabic to their public, conflicting with commitments made to the EU.

Abdul Hakim Abu Jamous, from the Palestinian Ministry of Education, confirmed to Al-Quds news network in September 2024 that “The Ministry of Education has not approved any modifications to the Palestinian curriculum.” He further emphasized that “not a single word has been deleted or altered in textbooks.”

The report emphasizes that antisemitism is pervasive within the curriculum, portraying Jewish people negatively and promoting narratives that demonize Israelis. Educational content often glorifies acts of violence, with textbooks portraying perpetrators as national heroes.

Examples include a fifth-grade textbook exercise on Dalal Al-Mughrabi, responsible for a deadly attack in 1978, and an eighth-grade text glorifying terror attacks, reinforcing violent imagery. History textbooks notably omit peace initiatives and the historical Jewish presence in the region.

IMPACT-SE’s analysis covers a range of educational materials used in Palestinian territories, noting similar issues in Gaza’s curriculum post-2023 Gaza war and in Jordanian educational content.

Marcus Sheff, IMPACT-SE CEO, commented that the report highlights the persistent presence of “virulent antisemitism, the glorification of jihad and incitement to violence” in Palestinian Authority textbooks. He urged for international intervention, stating, “The PA signed a formal agreement with the European Union — its largest funder — to remove this hate-filled content, a demand also made by the United States, which has consequently sanctioned PA officials.”

This article was originally published by All Israel News.