FactCheck: Has European Parliament recently condemned UNRWA, PA for antisemitism and Incitement in school textbooks?

Question

Ynetnews piece European Parliament condemns UNRWA, PA for antisemitism, Incitement describes rather scathing condemnation by the European Parliament of UNRWA and Palestinian Authority school materials:

The European parliament on Thursday, voted to condemn UNRWA and the Palestinian Authority for their schoolbooks and learning material, claiming that they led to the October 7 massacre by Hamas and the war in Gaza. "Educating to hate has direct and dramatic consequences," Parliament said referring to the "heinous terror attacks perpetrated by Hamas."

It also claims that this is not the first such condemnation:

This is the fifth year in a row that the European lawmakers have voted to specifically condemn the Palestinian education and its misuse of EU funds in order to teach violence and antisemitism, in its review of how tax payer funds are being invested.

I would like to see the original text issue by the European Parliament, but I couldn't find it (and I see only Israeli media reporting on it.) Perhaps somebody more experience with accessing/consulting European Parliament materials could help. The proceedings in question were likely held on April 11, 2024.

Answer 1

The text was included in Section III of the annual report on discharge in respect of the implementation of the general budget of the European Union. This text is subject to various votes to amend or otherwise change the text, and details of these can be found here (expand the 'Detailed voting results' section).

The final text adopted by the Parliament may be found here. The specific paragraphs relating to educational materials in the report are 198-199. It doesn't specifically condemn UNRWA - in fact, it calls for "increased and sustained funding in recognition of the agency's crucial role in the humanitarian response in Gaza" in paragraph 196, however the text does condemn the "problematic and hateful contents [...] in supplementary educational materials developed by UNRWA staff and taught in its schools", and threatens to withhold future education funding from the Palestinian Authority unless the curriculum is updated.

The European Parliament,
[...]

198. Recalls that the findings of the study commissioned by the Commission to Georg Eckert Institute on the Palestinian Textbooks revealed a complex picture where the textbooks (i) adhere to UNESCO standards and adopt criteria that are prominent in international education discourse, including a strong focus on human rights, (ii) express a narrative of resistance within the context of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and (iii) display an antagonism towards Israel; notes that the Union does not fund the Palestinian Textbooks and that neither are they the responsibility of UNRWA, which works to deliver quality education with an emphasis on fostering a human rights culture, even in challenging times; underlines that education and pupils’ access to peaceful and unbiased textbooks is essential; stresses Parliament’s position that textbooks drafted by Union funds, must be made conditional on full compliance with UNESCO standards of peace and tolerance; as already was decided upon by the Parliament in its 2023 recommendation on relations with the Palestinian Authority, and as repeatedly requested in its latest adopted resolutions on Prospects for the Two-State Solution;

199. Recalls the Union strategy to promote and ensure quality education for children across the world, especially when specific Union financial support is provided; condemns the problematic and hateful contents encouraging violence, spreading antisemitism and inciting hatred in Palestinian school textbooks drafted by Union-funded civil servants as well as in supplementary educational materials developed by UNRWA staff and taught in its schools; reaffirms in the context of the despicable terrorist attacks carried out by Hamas on 7 October 2023, that education to hatred have direct and dramatic consequences on the security of Israelis as well as on the perspectives of a better future for young Palestinians; therefore requests the Commission to closely scrutinise that no funds are allocated or linked directly or indirectly to the use of such educational materials and that the Palestinian Authority modifies the full curriculum expeditiously as repeatedly requested in the discharge decisions in respect of the implementation of the general budget of the Union for the financial years 2016, 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021; stresses that financial support from the Union to the Palestinian Authority in the area of education shall be provided on the condition of a national Palestinian curriculum, with reference textbooks and educational material, that is free from anti-Semitic contents and incitement to violence and complies with quality education; calls in that regard the Commission and Member States to provide expertise, share knowledge, guidance and technical support to empower Palestinian teachers, trainers and experts towards the implementation of education that fully complies with UNESCO standards;