JERUSALEM – “There is a tremendous focus on the peaceful resistance as the only tool to achieve freedom and independence,” Motesem al-Minawi, spokesman of the Hamas Education Ministry, complained about the latest UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency) textbooks for high school students in Gaza. Earlier this month, Hamas called on Gaza’s teachers not to use the UN’s materials in their classrooms, saying they “do not fit the culture of the Palestinian society and are meant to brainwash Palestinian students and convince them to accept the Zionist enemy”, this according to IDF sources.

The terrorist group views the United Nations’ materials as an affront to Palestinian society, saying they ignore “Palestinian cultural mores.” Al-Minawi further said that the textbooks are “completely detached from the reality of an Arab Muslim Palestinian student.” Hamas especially objected to the inclusion of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in UN textbooks, characterizing parts of the document as a violation of Islamic Law.

According to the Education Ministry, the materials “contaminate the minds of our dear students.”

The group’s recent reactions are just one example of its efforts to indoctrinate Gaza’s youth with messages of hatred and violence. Last month, 13,000 youngsters officially graduated from Hamas’ youth paramilitary camps, designed to encourage Gazan teens “to follow in the footsteps of the suicide martyrs.” In November 2013, the terrorist organization introduced new textbooks that denied Israel’s existence and called Jewish holy sites “fabricated”.

Of the 1.7 million people living in the Gaza Strip, about 1.2 million receive education benefits, medical care and socioeconomic support from UNRWA. Hamas, which supports the remaining third of Gaza’s population, consistently neglects the needs of Gaza’s civilians, using its funds to expand terrorist infrastructure and manufacture weapons.

By Aryeh Savir

Tazpit News Agency