Paschal Mooney (Fianna Fail)

I refer to a document recently presented by Mr. Olav Axselsen of Norway to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, of which I am privileged to be a member, on the position of Palestinian refugees. He draws attention to their plight in two sections of the draft recommendations. The document states:

"4. The situation of 3.9 million refugees registered with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), including 1.2 million living in camps in very miserable conditions, is not only unacceptable from a humanitarian point of view but constitutes a major threat for the stability and security in the region.

5. The Assembly considers that the services of UNRWA must be fully maintained until a permanent solution is found. The international community should step up its voluntary financial contribution to the budget of UNRWA with a view to at least allowing it to reflect the natural growth of the Palestinian refugee population being assisted by this Agency."

I implore the Minister of State to ensure, through the EU or other intergovernmental agencies with which he is working, the funding for UNRWA is not only be maintained but significantly increased. The current contribution to UNRWA is like dropping a pebble in the sea even though we may salve our consciences by thinking we are doing something that will achieve a solution.

I have been studying the question of school text books in both Israel and Palestine for some time. A powerful Jewish lobby is in operation, mainly out of the United States. Many American politicians are cowed to such an extent on the Israeli-Arab conflict that they do not engage on the issue publicly or, if they do, they parrot whatever they believe will win votes, which is usually a pro-Israeli position. That will not lead to effective dialogue and, consequently, a just solution. Severe criticisms have been made of the Palestinians. A documentary broadcast by the BBC a few months ago highlighted a shocking indoctrination in Palestinian children of vicious, anti-Semite rhetoric. However, when I delved further, I discovered the position is not much better in Israel. The Palestinian Authority has managed to improve the position. The main reason these quotes appeared in the television documentary and on American-based pro-Jewish websites is that up to 1994 the Palestinian Authority used Egyptian and Jordanian text books, which had been printed in the early part of the century. Similarly, many Israeli text books in the 1950s and 1960s were based on a pre-independence position and contained much invective about Arabs.

Israeli school text books as well as children's story books, according to recent academic studies and surveys, portray Palestinians and Arabs as "murderers, rioters, suspicious" and generally backward and unproductive. Direct de-legitimisation and negative stereotyping of Palestinians and Arabs are the rule rather than the exception in Israeli text books. On the other side of the coin, many of the text books used in Palestine do not take account of the reality in Israel. For example, Israel is not on the maps published therein. The Palestinian ministry of education argues that, until the territorial question is resolved, they cannot show maps.

There are many examples of anti-Jewish sentiment in the books but the Palestinian Authority has made improvements and is trying hard to reduce and eliminate such traditional invective so that children on both sides of the conflict will have a growing tolerance of each other's position at least. However, we should return to this issue because it is complex and extremely important in the context of the attitude and tolerance level among school children who will comprise the next generation. Will the Palestinian children put on uniforms and act similarly to their forebears? Will the Israeli children become part of another intifada?

I wish the Minister of State well on his visit to the Middle East and I also wish the Minister for Foreign Affairs, in his capacity as president of the European Council of Ministers, well. His bravery and courage in the face of severe Israeli criticism have been well justified. During his most recent visit to the country, the Israelis admitted Ireland has taken an even-handed approach to the resolution of the conflict. The Irish position is about equality, fairness, justice and the right of the Israeli state to exist within secure borders but it is also about the right of the Palestinian Authority and its people to achieve self-determination.