UK (Parliament Politics Magazine) – Report finds Palestinian Authority textbooks continue to teach anti-Semitism, ignoring UK government calls for curriculum reform.
As reported by The Telegraph, UK efforts to reform Palestinian curricula appear ignored, as schools reportedly continue teaching anti-Semitic material.
What did the report say about anti-Semitism in PA schools?
A recent report shows Palestinian Authority textbooks promote anti-Semitism and pro-terror content in the 2025–26 curriculum.
Despite international pressure and pledges to reform, textbooks in the West Bank and Gaza continue to feature harmful content for the new school year.
The Institute for Monitoring Peace and Cultural Tolerance in School Education reported several instances of anti-Semitic and anti-Israel content in textbooks.
The Grade-7 curriculum includes content depicting Israelis attacking children and women, instructing students to illustrate the scenes.
The report claims a Grade-8 Arabic textbook for 14-year-olds celebrates suicide bombers and praises attacks on Israelis with knives.
A Grade-12 textbook reportedly contains a poem urging students to return to Israeli cities “with a weapon in hand.”
The report alleges a Palestinian science textbook uses a slingshot, commonly seen in the intifada, to illustrate Newtonian physics.
According to IMPACT-se, Palestinian education funding supports civil servants who develop and implement a harmful curriculum.
The British government cut direct funding to Palestinian schools in October 2021 over materials deemed “not acceptable to the House.”
IMPACT-se, based in London and Tel Aviv, finds the PA has failed to act on UK calls to reform its new school year textbooks. This reform was a major demand from Britain and global partners following the recognition of a Palestinian state.
The UK signed an MoU with the Palestinian Authority in April 2025, without mandating curriculum changes.
How did the UK respond to anti-Semitism in PA schools?
Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper told MPs that changes to the curriculum were required.
She said,
“That is a crucial part of the Palestinian Authority reforms, and I have discussed that directly with President Abbas. The importance of maintaining the commitments that the Palestinian Authority has made to curriculum reform must be central in both the West Bank and in Gaza.”
Middle East Minister Hamish Falconer confirmed that PA President Mahmoud Abbas has promised to create a school curriculum free of incitement.
The UK has called for the PA to
“ensure that an independent audit is conducted to verify that these reforms have been completed.”
The IMPACT-se report will likely intensify pressure on the Government to push for changes in the PA’s education system in exchange for continued support for Palestinian statehood.
How did cross-party MPs respond to the report on PA school textbooks?
The UK-Israel Parliamentary Group warns that the report shows Palestinian children face indoctrination from a young age.
The group’s members, Bob Blackman MP, Damien Egan MP, Lord Austin and Lord Palmer, stated,
“The Palestinian Authority curriculum continues to systematically violate Unesco principles and education standards, inciting anti-Semitism, violence, promoting jihad, martyrdom, glorifying terrorism and rejecting peacemaking and a two-state solution. This cannot be allowed to continue.”
Damien Egan MP, Labour Friends of Israel Honorary Vice Chair, said,
“This report shows that despite the PA’s warm words, saying they support peaceful coexistence, a two-state solution and a commitment to reform, the sad reality is that in schools nothing has changed. It’s obviously wrong; the international community can’t continue to turn a blind eye.”
What did Greg Smith say about UK funding in Palestinian schools?
Greg Smith MP, Conservative Friends of Israel Vice Chair, stated,
“At a time when everyone in the region should be uniting around a clear agenda for peace, Palestinian children are being fed a diet of hate and extremism – all with the help of funding from the UK taxpayer.”
When did the UK recognize Palestine as a state?
The UK formally recognized Palestine as an independent sovereign state on September 21, 2025. The decision was announced alongside similar decisions from Canada, Australia, and Portugal.
The government said the recognition was a measure to “keep alive the possibility of peace and of a two-state solution.” The move was intended as a contribution to a negotiated peace, based on the 1967 borders with mutually agreed land swaps.
Palestine is recognised as a sovereign country by 157 of the 193 UN member states.