Thread: #UNRWA Schools & #Palestinian Radicalization
UNRWA schools in #Gaza, West Bank, #Syria, & Lebanon have long been fostering anti-Israel and anti-Jewish sentiment.
Textbooks & teachers often glorify violence, shaping generations of Palestinian youth against peace 🧵
Visegrád 24
in reply to Visegrád 24 • • •In #Gaza, UNRWA schools use textbooks calling #Jews “terrorists” & urging jihad.
A 2017 study found 78% of Palestinian students reject #Israel’s existence, fueled by such curricula. It breeds hostility, not an environment for peace
(2/?)
Visegrád 24
in reply to Visegrád 24 • • •Similarly, the same #PCPSR opinion poll from the West Bank shows that 83% of the Palestinians there oppose a two-state solution. They want it all for themselves "from the river to the sea"
UNRWA schools in the West Bank also teach kids to see #Israel as the enemy
(3/?)
Visegrád 24
in reply to Visegrád 24 • • •In #Syria, UNRWA’s 9 camps serve 575K "refugees," the vast majority of which have parents who were born in Syria
Again, #UNRWA textbooks praise “martyrdom.” A 2019 PCPSR study shows that 65% of Syrian Palestinian youth view violence as legitimate resistance (4/?)
Visegrád 24
in reply to Visegrád 24 • • •Lebanon’s 12 UNRWA camps, housing 490K "refugees," also have schools using curricula glorifying “resistance.”
A 2022 PCPSR report shows that nearly 70% of Lebanese #Palestinians reject #Israel’s right to exist.
(5/?)
Visegrád 24
in reply to Visegrád 24 • • •Jordan's 10 UNRWA camps have 370 000 students in 161 schools
A 2022 PCPSR report shows that 67% of Jordanian Palestinians reject Israel's right to exist while 62% support armed resistance. UNRWA textbooks tell kids to "sacrifice blood for liberating Jerusalem" (6/?)
Visegrád 24
in reply to Visegrád 24 • • •Statements by #UNRWA students from Askar in the West Bank show how deep the indoctrination goes.
The children are imbued by teachers with an obsession about “their right to return”
(7/?)
Visegrád 24
in reply to Visegrád 24 • • •Strangely, the #UN is applying a completely different standard to #Palestinian “refugees” compared to refugees from the rest of the world.
They retain refugee status even after receiving citizenship in third countries and have much more staff serving them (8/?)
Visegrád 24
in reply to Visegrád 24 • • •UNRWA staff and infrastructure have long been used in battle against #Israel.
In 2014, #Gaza schools stored Hamas rockets. On October 7th, UNRWA staff from Gaza, including 9 teachers, joined Hamas's attack in Israel. Hamas tunnels were built under UNRWA schools (9/)
Visegrád 24
in reply to Visegrád 24 • • •Terrorism is also supported in UNRWA camps beyond Gaza and the West Bank.
In Yarmouk in #Syria (heavily damaged in the Syrian Civil War in 2014), textbooks tell kids to “fight infidels.” 60% of camp youth back violence against Jews, not just Israel (10/?)
Visegrád 24
in reply to Visegrád 24 • • •The connection between #Hamas and UNRWA can also be observed in #Lebanon.
Fatah Sharif, one of the top Hamas commanders in the country, was killed in a 2024 Israeli airstrike. He was also a principal in a local UNRWA school (11/15)
Visegrád 24
in reply to Visegrád 24 • • •UNRWA’s 13K Gaza staff include 1,200 alleged #Hamas/Islamic Jihad members.
A 2024 dossier claimed that 190 staff, mostly teachers, doubled as militants ready to take part in battle.
UNRWA denies allegations but fired 9 after their Oct. 7th probe. (12/15)
Visegrád 24
in reply to Visegrád 24 • • •However, some crimes couldn’t be denied.
Faisal Ali Mussalem Al Naami, an UNRWA relief worker, was caught on camera kidnapping the body of 21-year-old Yonatan Samerano who was shot and murdered at Kibbutz Be’eri.
Visegrád 24
in reply to Visegrád 24 • • •It’s clear to everyone with knowledge about the conflict that dismantling UNRWA is key to stopping radicalization.
Its schools perpetuate hate, not hope. Alternative aid via UNHCR or NGOs should focus on integration, not eternal refugee status (14/15)