The Israeli government has laid partial blame for the Hamas terror attacks over the weekend on the European Union for its aid to Palestine that was used to fund the dissemination of anti-semitic textbooks.
Speaking in a press conference on Monday, Israeli Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesman Lior Haiat said: “The European Union was financing textbooks of the Palestinian authorities that were full of antisemitism and incitement for violence and terrorism against Jews.”
“This is a terrible thing, I can’t understand how Europe itself and the European countries can support antisemitic propaganda, and I’ll add to that; 80 years after the Holocaust.”
“Those textbooks are the root of the Palestinian terror against Israelis. Young people are being taught, educated, to hate Jews and to murder Jews,” Haiat added.
“The entire international community should review the way that they see the conflict here,” he said. “The images that we saw in the last 48 hours should never be forgotten. Never again.”
According to the latest government estimates, the Hamas terror attacks on Israel have taken the lives of over 900 people, over 2,400 left injured, and over 100 taken hostage by the Islamist terrorists.
In May, the European Parliament in Brussels passed a resolution to condemn the governing Palestinian Authority (PA) for its production of “hateful” school material. This was the fourth year in a row that lawmakers in Brussels criticised the PA for promoting antisemitic messages in schools, however, the EU did not take any measures to cut off financial aid used to produce such textbooks.
This is a page from a Palestinian Authority textbook teaching kids about Newton's laws of motion. The EU Parliament has voted to freeze funding to the PA until its curriculum is adjusted to international standards and hatred is removed.@IsraelArabic pic.twitter.com/PpqTeMMl2D
— Avi Kaner ابراهيم אבי (@AviKaner) May 11, 2023
This year, the EU Parliament did for the first time specifically link the radical school books with the rise of Palestinian terrorism, particularly among young people.
The resolution stated that the EU “deplores the problematic and hateful material in Palestinian school textbooks and study cards which has still not been removed” and “underlines that education and pupils’ access to peaceful and unbiased textbooks is essential, especially in the context of the rising implication of teenagers in terrorist attacks.”
The criticism of the EU from Israel comes as the bloc is grappling with internal divisions over whether or not to continue sending financial aid to Palestine. Although, EU commissioner Olivér Várhelyi announced the suspension of all aid to the territories on Monday — following similar moves from Germany and Austria — the EU backtracked by the end of the day, claiming that there are payments that are “due”.
The EU, which is the largest financial backer of the Palestinian Authority, said that it will try to “ensure that no EU funding indirectly enables any terrorist organization to carry out attacks against Israel”.
It is estimated Brussels has committed approximately €691 million ($728/£597 million) to Palestine this year, alone. In addition, the bloc is also planning on shipping a total of €1.18 billion between 2021 and 2024 to the region.
Europe Split on Terror: Brussels Backtracks, Won’t Suspend Aid Payments to Palestine https://t.co/giJOfTJlre
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) October 10, 2023
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