European Parliament urges funding freeze over PA textbook hate

On 29 April, in a significant statement, the European Parliament passed resolutions which strongly condemn textbooks produced by the Palestinian Authority (PA) for the seventh consecutive year. The resolutions said that PA textbooks continue to include antisemitic content, incitement to violence and the glorification of martyrdom and jihad. They also called for the removal of such content and for future EU funding for the PA to be conditioned upon this. Although the PA signed an agreement with the European Union committing to a process of curriculum reform in 2024, these reforms have not taken place. 

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 approved text which “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.”

Another similar resolution underscored the need for meaningful PA textbook reform, stating that the parliament “recalls the necessity for the Palestinian Authority to remove all educational materials and content that fail to adhere to UNESCO standards, particularly those encouraging antisemitism.”   

This marks a clear and powerful condemnation of the Palestinian Authority’s curriculum at a particularly timely moment. In July 2024, the PA signed an agreement with the European Union (EU) committing to a process of curriculum reform. 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 clearly demonstrated by IMPACT-se’s comprehensive review of the Palestinian Authority’s current 2025–2026 national school curriculum, these reforms have not taken place. Underscoring this, the US State Department yesterday issued a report to Congress, which cited IMPACT-se’s report, stating that 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), which conducts the EU’s foreign policy. The report called for the EU to apply conditionality on further funding to the PA, saying it “stresses that 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 resolutions were approved by a substantial margin, reflecting a broad consensus across the political spectrum, including parliamentarians from centre-left parties.

The resolution vote count was: 418 in Favor, 207 against, 14 abstentions

In reaction to this, Marcus Sheff, the CEO of IMPACT-se, said: “The European Parliament has sent a clear and vital message to both the Palestinian Authority and the European Commission – 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.”

Additionally, European Parliament members from across the political spectrum, representing millions of EU taxpayers, took the opportunity to speak out against Palestinian hate teaching.

Bert-Jan Ruissen MEP (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.”

Joachim Streit MEP (Renew Europe Group) said: “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.”

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