Former UNRWA Official Ahmad Oueidat: Hamas Leader Ismail Haniyeh Was A Teacher In One Of Our Schools, As Was PFLP-GC Leader Talal Naji; The West Tried To Corrupt Our Curricula

Former UNRWA official Ahmad Oueidat said in a March 14, 2024 interview on Al-Hiwar TV (U.K.) that the West was unhappy with UNRWA for giving rise to the top cadre of Palestinian leaders. He continued to say that both Hamas leader Ismaily Haniyeh and the Secretary-General of the PFLP-GC Dr. Talal Naji were teachers in UNRWA schools. Oueidat went on to say that Western countries, Israel, and the U.S. "corrupted" the UNRWA curricula, by "planting" topics that have "nothing to do" with Palestinian values and heritage, and they forced it to remove certain pictures and topics. In his last position, Oueidat was UNRWA’s Director of Professional Development and Curriculum Unit.

Ahmad Oueidat: "UNRWA has tried to constitute a national platform and a long arm, which would enable the Palestinian refugees to obtain their rights and first and foremost – the Right of Return.

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"But what happened was the [West] saw that UNRWA was raising thousands and thousands of cadres, who could gradually contribute to the development of Palestinian society. They saw that the UNRWA schools were giving rise to leaders. Many familiar names of politicians and leaders...

"First and foremost, we can mention Ismail Haniyeh, who was an UNRWA teacher, and so was Dr. Talal Naji, Secretary-General of the PFLP-GC.

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"There used to be quality in [UNRWA's] education. The teaching cadres really embraced their profession. However, the Americans and the Zionists did not look at this favorably. This is why they insisted on interfering. We, as UNRWA employees, had to deal with that interference. My final position was head of the Professional Development and Curriculum Unit, so I had to deal with it directly. They forced us to remove pictures and various topics.  

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"They planted [in the curricula] topics that have nothing to do with our values and our heritage, under the fancy slogans like neutrality, independence, impartiality, and humanity – as if UNRWA was not humane and neutral before.

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"The Israelis, the Americans, and the Western politician felt that as long as UNRWA upholds its goals, it constitutes a source of danger. This is why [they decided] to corrupt it."