Beirut – Special | Safa
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) has recently removed the name “Palestine” from the geography curriculum for elementary grades in Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon, without prior notice or informing the relevant educational authorities.
The move by the UN agency sparked widespread anger among the public, political factions, and local committees, after it was revealed that a supplementary educational booklet had been printed with the name “Palestine” removed.
Representatives of refugees, factions, and families in Lebanon’s camps described the step as a deliberate national crime that undermines Palestinian national identity and contradicts Lebanese laws and international agreements.
They warned of a broader plan aimed at stripping UNRWA of its national role and turning it into a tool to undermine Palestinian belonging.
Ali Huweidi, head of the 302 Commission for the Defense of Palestinian Refugee Rights, told Safa that “UNRWA is obligated to teach the curriculum issued by the region in which it operates among the five regions: Gaza, the West Bank, Lebanon, Syria, and Jordan.”
He explained that the recent measure took place in Palestinian camps in Lebanon, where UNRWA printed a supplementary geography book in which the name “Palestine” was removed from the map and replaced with the West Bank and Gaza.
Huweidi stressed that “UNRWA has no right to issue supplementary educational material without the approval of Lebanese General Security, and deleting the name contradicts the official political stance of the Lebanese government.”
He affirmed that Lebanon remains in a state of hostility with the Israeli entity, and that the agency has no right to remove the name “Palestine,” even if it is in supplementary material.
The irony, according to Huweidi, is that the book was printed this year and did not exist last year, noting that previous supplementary materials included the name “Palestine,” which has now been removed.
He described the action as “a deliberate national crime, not a mistake,” saying it contributes to stripping the UNRWA curriculum of its national content and contradicts Article 29 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which promotes identity and national awareness among younger generations. “In this way, UNRWA is violating this principle,” he said.
Huweidi noted that UNRWA’s step was met with popular rejection by local committees and factions, and that the material was burned and the books destroyed.
However, he emphasized that “what is required of UNRWA is to officially withdraw the book from circulation and apologize to the Palestinian people, families, committees, and factions, because what it did is a national crime.”
On another note, Huweidi stated that the presence of supplementary material including the name “Palestine” does not violate neutrality, as UNRWA claims, since the name “Palestine” exists in Lebanon’s official curriculum.
He pointed out that the deletion was discovered late because the school year had already begun, adding: “The blame here falls on UNRWA’s local employees in Lebanon and its education administration, who should have had a role in confronting and rejecting this step.”
Huweidi called for the Lebanese state to hold a press conference to state its position on the matter, warning that if this step is ignored, others will follow—steps that fall within the broader American and Israeli approach aimed at stripping UNRWA of its national content and turning it into a tool to undermine Palestinian identity and national belonging.
He further warned of serious attempts to carry out the same measure in other UNRWA fields of operation across its five regions, especially in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, stressing the need for awareness and action to prevent it.
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