Despite the fact that the PA signed in 2024 an agreement with the European Union committing to a process of curriculum reform, the  reforms have not taken place.

The Parliament “recalls the necessity for the Palestinian Authority to remove all educational materials and content that fails to adhere to UNESCO standards, in particular those containing antisemitism, incitement to violence, glorification of jihad and martyrdom, and the rejection of peaceful conflict resolution.”

For the seventh consecutive year, the European Parliament this week adopted resolutions which strongly condemn Palestinian Authority(PA)  textbooks which they said continue to include antisemitic content, incitement to violence and the glorification of martyrdom and jihad.

The resolutions, approved by 418 in favor, 207 against and 14 abstention,  reflecting a broad consensus across the political spectrum, including parliamentarians from centre-left parties, called for the removal of such content and for future EU funding for the PA to be conditioned upon this.

Despite the fact that the PA signed in 2024 an agreement with the European Union committing to a process of curriculum reform, the  reforms have not taken place.

Investigations by advocacy groups and independent researchers, such as the Germany-based Georg Eckert Institute, have repeatedly found in recent years that PA textbooks promote violence and antisemitism.

The resolutions were adopted as part of a vote on the EU’s budget procedure which scrutinizes how European taxpayer funds have been spent.

The Parliament “recalls the necessity for the Palestinian Authority to remove all educational materials and content that fails to adhere to UNESCO standards, in particular those containing antisemitism, incitement to violence, glorification of jihad and martyrdom, and the rejection of peaceful conflict resolution.”

Acording to the Institute for Monitoring Peace and Cultural Tolerance in School Education (IMPACT-se), an international research and policy organization that monitors and analyzes education around the world, ‘’this marks a clear and powerful condemnation of the Palestinian Authority’s curriculum at a particularly timely moment.’’

The EU detailed that PA textbooks for Grades 1-4 were to be fully aligned with UNESCO standards of peace and tolerance by September 2025 (the EU subsequently said that this had been completed in October 2025), and that PA textbooks for Grade 12 were to have undergone such reform by December 2024.

As demonstrated by IMPACT-se’s review of the Palestinian Authority’s current 2025–2026 national school curriculum, these reforms have not taken place as PA school textbooks for grades 1-12 “continue to glorify jihad and incitement to violence.”
Despite the PA’s repeated assurances to the European Union that these reforms had been completed, in February the PA Education Ministry clarified in a formal statement that “the textbooks currently used by students in all various governorates have not been revised at all” and asked the Palestinian public “not be drawn into rumors and false information that are being spread.”

The failure to reform was reflected in a further resolution passed by the European Parliament, approving a report from the European External Action Service (EEAS), the EU’s foreign policy service. The report called for the EU to apply conditionality on further funding to the PA. ‘’Financial support from the European Union for the Palestinian Authority in the area of education should be provided on the condition that textbook content is aligned with UNESCO standards,’’ the report stated.

Marcus Sheff, CEO of IMPACT-se, said the European Parliament ‘’ sent a clear and vital message to both the Palestinian Authority and the European Commission saying that it is unthinkable that after the October 7 massacres, the PA’s curriculum remains infected with hatred, violence and antisemitism.’’

‘’The PA’s pledge to reform its curriculum has proven to be an empty promise. The time has come for the Commission to demonstrate that the PA’s inaction and duplicity, which threatens to radicalize the next generation of Palestinians, has real-world diplomatic and financial consequences,’’ he added.

During the debate, several MEPs from across the political spectrum, spoke out against Palestinian hate teaching:

MEP Bert-Jan Ruissen from the European Conservatives and Reformists group, said/ ‘’The Commission must ensure that its reform framework delivers real change in Palestinian classrooms. EU support should remain firmly conditional on full alignment with UNESCO standards and the removal of incitement.”

MEP Joachim Streit from Renew Europe group stated: “A reform of Palestinian Authority textbooks represents an important opportunity to ensure that every child receives an education grounded in tolerance and coexistence. It also provides a constructive pathway to help ensure that international funding supports a future built on peace rather than division. Parliament has consistently supported this objective and is well placed to continue doing so.”

Since 2008, the EU has funnelled  about €3.8 billion to the PA through its PEGASE fund, which finances the salaries of civil servants, teachers, and education systems, responsible for drafting, approving, and delivering the curriculum.

The U.S. State Department has also released a report to Congress, citing Impact-se’s findings that textbooks used by the PA Ministry of Education “continue to glorify jihad and incitement to violence.”

The textbooks’ content

Grade 12 Arabic language textbook printed for 2025–26 includes a poem that urges students to “return” to Israeli cities “with a weapon in your hand”

Researchers also found a revised textbook stating that “jihad is a contemporary religious duty to ‘liberate’ Palestine from the Zionist Occupation,” effectively encouraging students to pursue armed struggle.

An Islamic Education textbook also marked as revised portrays “the Jews” as liars and associates them with Satan.