In response to a question on this issue during the debate, European Commissioner for Equality, Helena Dalli, noted that the European Union has funded an independent study of Palestinian textbooks against defined international benchmarks based on the UNESCO Standards on Peace, Tolerance and Non-Violence in Education.
Commissioner Dalli, who spoke on behalf of EU foreign policy chief Josep Borell during the plenary session of the EU parliament in Strasbourg, expressed the EU’s hope that the incoming Israeli government ‘’will confirm the country’s full commitment to the shared values of democracy and rule of law.’’
Members of the European Parliament stressed during a debate in the European Parliament on the ”prospects for the two-state solution for Israel and Palestine”, that all Palestinian schoolbooks and school materials supported by European Union funds must be in line with UNESCO standards of peace and tolerance and that EU funding will have to be suspended if there is clear and substantiated evidence of misuse.
In response to a question on this issue during the debate in Strasbourg on Tuesday, European Commissioner for Equality, Dalli, noted that the European Union has funded an independent study of Palestinian textbooks against defined international benchmarks based on the UNESCO Standards on Peace, Tolerance and Non-Violence in Education.
The research led by the Georg Eckert Institute for International Textbook Research (GEI) was published in June 2021.
The European Union has funded an independent study of Palestinian textbooks against defined international benchmarks based on the UNESCO Standards on Peace, Tolerance and Non-Violence in Education. The research by the independent and internationally recognised Georg Eckert Institute for International Textbook Research (GEI) was published in June of last year.
‘’The analysis revealed a complex picture,’’ Dalli said.
The report was shared with the European Parliament and Services briefed various Committees of the European Parliament.
‘’The independent assessment carried out by the GEI provides an objective basis for the European Union’s engagement with the Palestinian Authority on education reform and changes to the curriculum that are essential with a view to bring about the full adherence to UNESCO Standards on Peace, Tolerance, Coexistence and Non-Violence in all Palestinian educational material,’’ the Commissioner said.
She explained that the European Union has stepped up its engagement with the Palestinian Authority on the basis of the study ‘’with the aim to ensure that further curriculum reform addresses problematic issues in the shortest possible timeframe, and that the Palestinian Authority takes responsibility to screen textbooks not analysed in the study.
The teaching materials in Palestinian schools have long been a source of concern. Critics have repeatedly detected anti-Semitism in it and point out that Israel does not appear on maps and perpetrators of terrorist attacks are presented as heroes.
Last May, the European Parliament condemned the Palestinian Authority for the third consecutive year for its abuse of EU funding used to draft and teach new violent and hateful textbooks ‘’worse than previous editions.’’
A resolution adopted by the parliament demanded that the Palestinian Authority be “closely scrutinized,” that the curriculum be modified “expeditiously,” and reiterating previous motions adopted by the Parliament insisting that funding to the PA “must be made conditional” on teaching peace and tolerance in compliance with UNESCO standards.
Dalli said that the the European Union will remain actively engaged and working towards the relaunch of the two-state solution in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. 44We continue to call on the parties to take concrete steps toward relaunching a political horizon and offer our every support towards this end,’’ she said.
‘’The European Union will continue to defend the viability of the two-state solution, respect of international law and continue to advocate against any unilateral actions,’’ she added.
Commissioner Dalli, who spoke on behalf of EU foreign policy chief Josep Borell, expressed the EU’s hope that the incoming Israeli government ‘’will confirm the country’s full commitment to the shared values of democracy and rule of law.’’
She said the EU ‘’hopes to engage with the next government in serious conversation on the conflict and the need to re-open the political horizon for the Palestinian population.’’
At the beginning of her speech, Dalli mentioned that more than 120 Palestinians have been killed. ”Year 2022 is the deadliest for Palestinians in the West Bank since the United Nations started systematically counting fatalities in 2005, when measured on a monthly average,” she said.
”It is the deadliest year for Palestinian children in the West Bank in 15 years, with 34 children killed by Israeli forces or settlers, with an overall record high settler violence,” she declared.
”We witnessed a wave of terror attacks across Israel, with more than 20 casualties as reported by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). This was followed by more Israeli military operations and incursions in Palestinian cities,” she added.