Dear Ambassador,

The international community has repeatedly called upon the Palestinian Authority to abandon policies that condone terrorism and, instead, to promote an approach centered on peace and coexistence.

While leaders of the Palestinian Authority have at times paid lip service to these expectations, in practice the ongoing policy of indoctrination in pursuit of national objectives through the use of force and the glorification of “martyrdom” continues in a variety of forms, as we will demonstrate in this letter.

We wish to address two specific issues: the role of UNRWA education in Palestinian schools, and the financial support extended by the Palestinian Authority to the families of terrorists who have carried out horrific acts of violence.

The Center for Near East Policy Research has recently completed a new study of textbooks used in UNRWA schools. This research complements a series of documentary films produced by our Center on location in UNRWA schools between 2004 and 2024.

The findings of this extensive research indicate that UNRWA’s curriculum continues to promote the so-called “Right of Return” through the use of armed force—an approach that we believe is incompatible with the principles and responsibilities of a United Nations educational framework.

We would be pleased to arrange a briefing by Dr. Arnon Groiss, author of the most recent research report, to provide your staff with detailed findings and concrete policy recommendations.

In 2024 the Netherlands donated $ 20,810,515 to UNWRA.
Given that approximately 58 percent of UNRWA’s annual budget of USD 1.6 billion is allocated to education (UNRWA 2024 Annual Operational Report, p. 25), we respectfully ask whether your government would consider advocating for a meaningful policy change within UNRWA’s educational system, so that it genuinely promotes peace and coexistence.

The Palestinian Authority’s Policy of Financial Support to Families of “Martyrs”

Publicly, leaders of the Palestinian Authority occasionally issue carefully worded and diplomatically phrased “condemnations” following brutal terrorist attacks carried out by Palestinians against Israeli civilians. In practice, however, the Palestinian Authority actively endorses and rewards such acts of terrorism by providing generous monthly stipends to the families of so-called “martyrs”—that is, terrorists who have murdered innocent civilians. Similar monthly payments are also provided to Palestinians imprisoned in Israel for committing comparable acts of violence. The Palestinian Authority even endeavoured to establish a special bank for that particular purpose.

This policy sends a clear and troubling message to the Palestinian public: that acts of violence are not only tolerated, but rewarded and encouraged. Such a policy inevitably creates incentives for further violence. If the Palestinian Authority wishes to convince the international community that it genuinely opposes terrorism, it cannot continue practices that directly contradict such claims.

We believe that your government is committed to achieving a peaceful resolution of the Middle East conflict, and we therefore respectfully urge your government to act within the international arena to ensure that the Palestinian Authority ceases its financial support for perpetrators of violence and their families.

Respectfully yours,
Yossi Beck, BSW, MBA, MA (Political Science).
Senior consultant,
Center for Near East Policy research

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