This article first appeared in the Jewish Chronicle.
Terrorists and Nazi collaborators have been ‘honoured’ by having schools named after them in the West Bank
The government has been urged to step up pressure on the Palestinian Authority over funding pledges after it emerged that more than 20 Palestinian schools receiving cash in the West Bank and Gaza are named after terrorists or Nazi collaborators.
A dossier prepared by Labour Friends of Israel in cooperation with Palestinian Media Watch reveals how three schools carry the name of Dalal Mughrabi — the terrorist who led an attack that left 38 civilians dead in Israel in 1978.
Other schools are named after Shadia Abu Ghazaleh, the PFLP terrorist; Abu Jihad, the leader of the PLO’s military wing; and Nash’at Abu Jabara — the Hamas terrorist who built the suicide vests used in several attacks.
The Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, Amin Al-Husseini, who was responsible for a Muslim SS division and was a Nazi collaborator, is honoured at one school, while another two schools are named after Hassan Salameh, who was trained as a paratrooper by the Nazis.
Joan Ryan, LFI chair, said: “The prime responsibility for this poisoning of young minds rests with the Palestinian Authority, but western governments — including our own — must bear responsibility too.
“As major donors, we passively write cheques to the PA (£125 million of taxpayers’ money has been pledged until 2021) without issuing any more than rote condemnations of its actions.”
Priti Patel, International Development Secretary, ordered her civil servants to “freeze” all aid to the PA last October over fears the money was being diverted to fund terrorism.
The move was widely welcomed by groups including the Board of Deputies, Conservative Friends of Israel and LFI.
Money for state employees in Gaza has reportedly been transferred to the PLO, while a Hamas bomber was allegedly given £100,000.
Other such “salaries” are reported to have been given to families of suicide bombers and teenagers attacking Israel.
The LFI report echoes concerns raised by Jerusalem-based research institute NGO Monitor.
The organisation’s Itai Reuveni said: “In recent years, European taxpayer monies have been used to pay the salaries of convicted terrorists and their families, under the guise of ‘salaries’ for Palestinian Authority employees.
“They have also funded so-called educational programs where ‘curriculum’ includes incitement to violence against Jews and cultural events that often turn into festivals of hate.”
The government said in December that future aid to the PA would focus “solely on vital health and education services”.
Please find below links to the letter sent to Priti Patel and the statement on incitement:
Letter to Rt. Hon Priti Patel MP, Secretary of State for International Development
Statement on incitement for DfID assessment of PA compliance with partnership principles
