Twelve UNRWA school principals who are members of the Hamas military: REUTERS.
A new report from the Institute for Monitoring Peace and Cultural Tolerance in School Education (IMPACT-se) reveals a serious problem in the UNRWA education system in Gaza, where school principals and staff have been identified as members of terrorist organisations, including Hamas. This revelation casts a shadow over the organisation’s claims to provide neutral and non-extremist education for Palestinian children. This was reported by TimeUkraineIsrael with reference to The Jerusalem Post.
Identifying Hamas links in schools
According to the investigation, more than 10 per cent of UNRWA’s senior education staff in Gaza were members of Hamas or Islamic Jihad. This became known in July, when Israeli intelligence made the findings public, stressing that this contradicted UNRWA’s claims to provide education free of extremist influences. According to the new data provided to the agencies, twelve UNRWA school principals and deputy principals are in fact active members of terrorist organisations, many of whom hold high positions in terrorist units.
Hamas Tunnels and Schools as Centres of Operations
One of the most striking revelations was that several UNRWA schools, including Al-Zaytoun and Al-Maghazi, were directly linked to Hamas infrastructure. For example, the headmaster of Al-Zaytoun, Mohammad Juma Shuwaideh, was a squad leader in the Hamas urban brigade. Similarly, other principals, such as Khaled Saeed Mustafa al-Massri and Ahmad Samir Mahmoud al-Khatib, also had close ties to Hamas militants in Ghan Younis.
Equally serious is the discovery of Hamas tunnels running directly under some of these schools. This discovery is deeply disturbing, as schools are becoming not only centres of education, but also important points of combat.
Promotion of Violence in Educational Materials
Educational materials used in these schools also contain elements of terrorist propaganda. In Al-Zaytun school, students were taught to glorify the terrorist Dalal Mughrabi, who was responsible for the 1978 massacre on the coastal road that killed 38 Israelis. Other school materials directly incite violence and promote anti-Semitic sentiment. For example, Al-Magaz called for the “liberation of the Al-Aqsa Mosque” and “sacrificing for it”, which is part of anti-Israeli rhetoric that has nothing to do with peaceful education.
Systemic Problems and Anti-Israeli Propaganda
What is most worrying is that these problems are not accidental or isolated. The investigation points to a systematic pattern of manipulation of educational content, not only in educational materials, but also in the schools’ social media, where themes of violence and fighting the “enemy” are repeatedly raised. For example, the official Facebook pages of UNRWA schools often spread denial of Israel’s existence and promote terrorist statements.
International Response and Accountability of Education Initiatives
These findings raise serious questions about how the international community should respond to the situation. Repeated warnings about terrorist influences in UNRWA schools and no significant changes in their policies indicate a serious problem. “This is not only an issue of accountability, but also of security for the future generation of Palestinian children who should be raised in peace, not hatred,” said the IMPACT-se representative.
This investigation raises important questions about the accountability of international aid and the effectiveness of humanitarian missions. Given that UNRWA’s education system continues to be funded by international taxpayers, it is necessary to find out how to ensure that humanitarian aid is not used to undermine stability and peace in the region.
