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European Union to scrutinize Palestinian textbooks for signs of hatred, incitement

E.U. foreign-policy chief Federica Mogherini said they seek to “identify possible incitement to hate and violence and non-compliance with UNESCO standards regarding peace and tolerance in education.”

European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini. Credit: Annika Haas via Flickr.
European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini. Credit: Annika Haas via Flickr.

The European Union will investigate whether E.U. funds are going towards Palestinian textbooks teaching incitement to hatred and violence, its High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Federica Mogherini, announced on Wednesday.

The investigation seeks to “identify possible incitement to hate and violence and non-compliance with UNESCO standards regarding peace and tolerance in education,” she said. “Incitement to violence is incompatible with the promotion of the two-state solution and greatly exacerbates the lack of trust between the communities.”

“The announcement follows an investigation and campaign by IMPACT-se (Institute for Monitoring Peace and Cultural Tolerance in School Education),” reported Ynet. “They found that the new Palestinian textbooks, releases in September 2018, are even more radical than previous editions, with hundreds of examples of extremism encouraging jihad, violence, demonization, and incitement against Israel and Jews.”

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