THE FACTS

What you need to know about Hamas’ influence on Palestinian Schools and Curriculum.

Palestinian schools operate under two main systems:

  • The Palestinian Authority (PA) in the West Bank

  • Hamas in Gaza

    While the PA develops the official curriculum that is used across both areas (including by UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees, or UNRWA, which runs about 288 schools in Gaza) Hamas has exerted significant influence in Gaza since taking control in 2007.

    • This influence includes:

      • Deviations from the PA curriculum

      • Additions of extracurricular programs

      • Infiltration of school administration

    • Reports from education monitors like IMPACT-se highlight persistent issues of incitement, glorification of violence, and antisemitism (As recent as 2025)

      • Palestinian officials argue that elements described as “incitement” are teachings of national resistance against occupation

      • IMPACT-se is an organization that tracks textbooks for peace and tolerance

  • Key Aspects of Hamas’ role in the curriculum

    • In 2013: Hamas introduced its own middle-school textbooks in Gaza for the first time, diverging from the PA curriculum to emphasize Islamic values, resistance against Israel, and militarism

      • Theses texts and portrayed Israel negatively promoted Hamas’ ideology of armed struggles

      • The Palestinian Authority criticized them as “belligerent” and deepening the Fatah-Hamas rift.

      • Even after a partial alignment with the PA’s materials, Hamas supplements with informal education

    • In 2025: An IMPACT-se 2025 analysis of the Palestinian Authority’s online curriculum for Gaza students (used amid the war) found it “rife with antisemitic stereotypes” praising “martyrs” and jihad, and blaming Israel for societal issues like poverty.

      • Examples include: 

        • Assignments linking poverty to Israeli actions and maps erasing Israel

      • This continues a pattern from earlier PA textbooks with no significant reforms despite international pledges

    • Hamas added paramilitary training in Gaza schools such as drills with toy weapons and lessons on “resistance.”

      • A 2023 report noted UNRWA and Hamas-run schools using PA curriculum but incorporating Hamas-led activities that foster radicalism

    • In 2024-2025: Recent investigations reveal Hamas members hold key roles in UNRWA schools

      • A New York Times review of Israeli-seized documents found ~24 UNRWA staff in Gaza are linked to Hamas, including principals

      • A UN Watch report from 2025 detailed cases like Suhail al-Hindi, a Hamas politburo member and former UNRWA school principal, who blocked neutrality reforms

      • IMPACT-se identified 5 UNRWA schools in Gaza are run by senior Hamas figures where the classrooms display images of attackers like Dalal Mughrabi

        • 1978 Coastal Road massacre perpetrator

Hamas’ influence on Palestinian Students

There is more dating on school naming available for PA-controlled areas than Hamas-run ones:

  • Gaza’s education is less transparently documented

  • Martyr Ahmed Yassin School for Boys (Jenin, West Bank)

    • Ahmed Yassin = Hamas founder and spiritual leader

  • Martyr Nash’at Abu Jabara High School for Girls (Tulkarem, West Bank)

    • Nash’at Abu Jabara = Hamas bomb-maker linked to suicide belts

  • Martyr Izz al-Din al-Qassam Schools (Jenin-elementary) & Ya’bad (Boys High School)

    • Al-Qassam predates Hamas, but Hamas’s military wing is explicitly named after him

Schools Named After Hamas Leaders

Amin al-Husseini Elementary School (El-Bireh, Ramallah area)

  • Haj Amin al-Husseini is the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem. Collaborated with Nazi Germany during WW2

  • A 2024 Israeli government brief also references an Amin al-Hussaini elementary/middle school for boys in Ramallah

  • Hassan Salameh Junior High School for Girls (Gaza)

    • Hassan Salameh was a Palestinian Arab militant recruited as a Nazi agent

    • Sent by the Nazis in 1944 on a sabotage mission in Mandate Palestine

  • Hassan Salameh Elementary School (Gaza)

    • Hassan Salameh was a Palestinian Arab militant recruited as a Nazi agent

    • Sent by the Nazis in 1944 on a sabotage mission in Mandate Palestine

Schools Named After Nazi Collaborators

We should care because classrooms shape the worldview. In both PA and Gaza systems, watchdogs keep finding content that glorifies “martyrdom,” erases Israel on maps, and frames violence as a virtue.

Naming schools after Hamas figures and even some Nazi collaborators signals who society elevates to kids. This is not just symbolism but socialization. Multiple investigations allege Hamas-linked personnel inside UNRWA schools. UN agencies and major outlets have disputed parts of these claims or are still investigating, so the scale is contested, and decision-makers need verifiable evidence.

The UN’s internal watchdog-OIOS- finished its probe and said 9 UNRWA employees were possibly involved in October 7th; UNRWA fired those staff. Earlier, UNRWA said Israel initially accused 12 and by April the UN said 10 were fired and 2 were dead. 

Why Should We Care?

Gen Z should take away that what you teach and who you honor on the school sign predicts the next generations norms. Curriculum = Culture and audits as recent as March 2025 found Gaza coursework with antisemitic tropes and praise for martyrs.

What Should Gen Z Take Away?