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Hamas rejects UN textbooks in Gaza as “too peaceful”
The Hamas authority which controls the Gaza Strip has told a United Nations’ refugee agency that its textbooks cannot be used in Gaza schools as they focus too heavily on “peaceful” means of conflict resolution.
The UN Relief and Works Agency (UNWRA) operate 245 schools in Gaza, serving 232,000 students according to AP. However, Hamas, which has controlled the Gaza Strip since violently overthrowing the Fatah faction in 2007, has blocked the introduction of some UNWRA textbooks. Spokesman for the Hamas-run Education Ministry in Gaza, Motesem al-Minawi explained that the textbooks are not compatible with the local “ideology and philosophy.” He said that, “There is a tremendous focus on the peaceful resistance as the only tool to achieve freedom and independence.” Hamas is responsible for killing hundreds of Israeli civilians in suicide bombings, shootings and other attacks in what it terms “armed resistance.”
Al-Minawi added that Hamas objects to the textbook’s inclusion of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which in 1948 enshrined “the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family,” on the grounds that aspects of the declaration such as the freedom to change religion, contradicts Islamic law.
UNWRA spokesman Chris Gunness said that further discussions with Hamas would take place but that it has “no plans to change its education programs in Gaza.” UNWRA last year cancelled its planned Gaza marathon after Hamas banned women from participating. Hamas has also complained about UNWRA-run mixed folk dance classes.
Meanwhile, on the border yesterday between Israel and the Gaza Strip, Israeli soldiers fired on two Palestinian men who appeared to be tampering with the border fence. Palestinian news agency Ma’an said that one man was killed. Israeli sources explained that the two men entered a closed security zone, attempted to sabotage the fence and ignored repeated warnings to stop before soldiers opened fire. In recent weeks, there has been a spike in explosive devices targeting Israeli patrols along the Gaza border.