Norway to withhold PA funding over textbooks that promote violence

Norway says it will withhold half of the year’s funding to the Palestinian Authority’s education system until it stops using textbooks that promote hate and violence.

Foreign Affairs Minister Ine Eriksen Søreide makes the announcement in response to a parliamentary question on the issue. She says Norwegian aid to the Palestinian education sector does not go for textbooks or other educational material, and is part of a larger program that includes donors from several countries. In 2019, the program included the construction of 220 new classrooms and 63 new public schools.

Soreide also says that she raised the issue in a meeting with the PA’s education minister, Marwan Awartan, on May 21 and in February with Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh.

The European Union commissioned a report by the Georg Eckert Institute for International Textbook Research following a report by the NGO IMPACT-se that found incitement to hatred, violence and martyrdom in PA textbooks.

In May, the European Parliament passed resolutions that condemn the Palestinian Authority for continuing to teach hate and oppose EU aid to the Palestinian Authority being used for this purpose.

— JTA