The European Parliament passed resolutions condemning textbooks produced by the Palestinian Authority (PA) for the sixth consecutive year, according to a Thursday statement from NGO IMPACT-se.
The resolutions demanded that EU funding for the PA be frozen until the textbooks are changed and applied pressure on the European Commission to take similar action to enforce the changes.
The resolutions specified that EU funds to the PA should be withheld “on the condition that textbook content aligns with UNESCO standards, removes all antisemitic content, and eliminates examples that incite hatred and violence.”
Another resolution called for the PA to “remove all educational materials and content that fail to adhere to UNESCO standards by the next school year, particularly those containing antisemitism.”
These resolutions were adopted as part of the EU’s budgetary procedure, which scrutinizes how European taxpayer funds are spent.
“Today, the Parliament made it clear that Palestinian textbooks should not promote violence, incite hatred, or spread antisemitism,” Niclas Herbst, a Member of European Parliament (MEP) for the European People’s Party and Rapporteur for the European Parliament’s Committee on Budgetary Control, said in response to the resolutions. “It is our responsibility to ensure that European taxpayers’ money supports coexistence, respect for human rights, and mutual understanding. We must demand full accountability and transparency from our partners, ensuring that no EU funding supports educational content that undermines these essential values.”
Bert-Jan Ruissen, an MEP from the European Conservatives and Reformists Group and a member on the Committee on Budgetary Control, added that, “Education funded by EU taxpayers must reflect Europe’s core values of peace and respect, not hatred and violence.
“We have a responsibility to ensure that Palestinian textbooks no longer teach antisemitism or glorify terrorism. Only when incitement ends can there be hope for a peaceful future in the region.”
Other motions passed seeking to distance Palestinian education from terrorism, antisemitism
During the session, the Parliament also called for educational materials to align with the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism.
The European Parliament also passed a resolution to ensure “that no Union funds are allocated to individuals or organizations linked to any kind of terrorist movements,” noting that UNRWA employees are alleged to have participated in the October 7 massacre.
The Commission urged members “to also make full use of trusted partners, such as the WHO, WFP, and UNICEF” as an alternative option to the UN Palestinian refugee agency.
The resolutions were led by the chair of the Parliament’s important budgetary control committee and were passed by an overwhelming majority in Parliament.
Sabrina Repp, an MEP from the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats and a member of the Committee on Culture and Education, stressed that “Education is the foundation of every new generation. It must be based on peace, respect, and human dignity. The European Parliament sent a powerful message today: we will not stand idly by while children are exposed to hatred and division.”
A lack of reform in Palestinian education
In July 2024, the European Commission announced an agreement with the PA to condition funding on textbook reform for the first time. However, IMPACT-se’s March 2025 report, which was presented to the EU in Brussels, assessed that the PA had failed to reform its educational material – and had instead developed a completely new curriculum for the West Bank which incites violence, promotes antisemitism, glorifies terrorism and martyrdom, and encourages jihad.
Despite the lack of reform, the EU held high-level talks with the PA last month and committed to a three-year support package, once again linking the funding to the promised textbook reforms.
The resolutions, according to IMPACT-se, are a direct challenge to this decision, increasing the pressure on the PA to follow through on the reforms it has promised.
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