A new report on Palestinian textbooks for the 2025-2026 school year determines that, despite the Palestinian Authority's commitments to carry out a reform in the curricula, no substantial changes were made in most of the books. The report points to the continued appearance of content that includes erasing Israel from maps, presenting Jews in a negative manner, and glorifying models of martyrdom and violence already in the lower grades.
The organization IMPACT-SE examined 290 textbooks and 71 teacher guides used in schools in the West Bank, Gaza, and East Jerusalem, including UNRWA institutions. According to the report, the main content remained identical to the latest editions, including: erasing Israel, presenting Jews as fundamental enemies of Islam, promoting jihad, and integrating models of violence and martyrdom as part of the daily learning routine.
In July 2024, the Palestinian Authority signed an agreement with the European Union, under which it pledged that 12th grade textbooks would undergo a full reform by the end of 2024, and that by September 2025 the elementary curriculum would also be adjusted to UNESCO standards. According to the report, none of the goals were implemented. Despite this, the European Union has transferred more than 500 million euros to the Authority since the signing.
One of the main findings is the omission of peace processes, dialogue or negotiations that were previously included. References to the Camp David Accords, the Annapolis Conference or the Road Map for Peace have disappeared. The connection to the political process of the 1990s has also been removed. Previous editions included excerpts from Arafat's letter to Rabin in 1993, including recognition of Israel and a commitment to refrain from terrorism; in the new editions, these sections have been completely removed, and the document is presented as an administrative text with no political significance. The implication: A Palestinian student is not exposed to the fact that a peace process ever took place.
In addition, the books include the erasure of Israel, the erasure of Jewish history, and dehumanization. The report shows that the textbooks continue to include the erasure of Israel from maps, with the territory of the state being marked as "Palestine" only; Israeli cities do not appear; and the name "Israel" is hardly mentioned. In addition, the books include the erasure of Jewish history with the Western Wall being presented solely as a Muslim site; the historical-Jewish connection to Jerusalem being defined as "a claim made by invaders"; and finally that there is no mention of the Holocaust or of the expulsion of Jews from Arab countries.
The report presents an example from a 12th-grade Islamic Education textbook (2025–2026 edition), which describes an encounter between the Prophet Muhammad and a group of Jews: "The Jews asked him to judge unjustly. They promised to convert to Islam if he did so, but it turned out that their intention was deception and falsehood."
According to the report, presenting the story without historical context and without distinguishing between a specific figure and all Jews reinforces an antisemitic generalization. Additional descriptions describe the Jewish control over global media and finance. Alongside the texts appear graphic images — including an illustration depicting Israel as an entity that controls the world and threatens "to conquer the soul of the Palestinian nation."
The books also glorify terrorists from a young age. In the first grade the word "shahid" (martyr) is taught as part of the basic vocabulary. In the fifth grade a story about Dalal Mughrabi, who was responsible for the Coastal Road Massacre of 1978, is presented as a "heroic act." (Mughrabi was an 18-year-old female Palestinian militant who took part in a bus hijacking attack which led to the murder of 38 Israeli civilians and 76 wounded.) Finally in twelfth grade the curriculum includes a poem calling on the students "to return to the cities in Israel with a weapon in hand."
According to the report, even subjects that are supposed to be politically neutral are embedded with radical content. This includes in physics, by demonstrating force and momentum using a girl shooting a stone with a slingshot; mathematics, by practicing numbers through "the number of martyrs"; chemistry, with prisoners' strikes being presented as an example of an exercise on mixtures; and biology, with a diagram of a child who was shot as the reference photo used to explain the nervous system.
Antisemitism is not an exception, it is a systemic infrastructure
IMPACT-SE CEO Marcus Sheff said that the report "illustrates a reality in which antisemitism and incitement are not an exception but a systemic infrastructure." He said, "Despite a formal commitment, the Palestinian Authority has not removed the content that undermines the possibility of coexistence."
According to him, the report emphasizes that the countries that recently recognized the Palestinian state — the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and France — bear the responsibility to demand that the Authority comply with international standards, including in the field of education.
The conclusion of the report states that as discussions on the future of Gaza progress within Phase 2 of the "Trump Plan," the Palestinian curriculum will be at the center of the discussion as the current version "is not suitable for use in Palestinian schools and requires a comprehensive alternative if a more stable and tolerant future is to be promoted."
