JERUSALEM (VINnews) A disturbing new investigation by the Palestinian Media Watch (PMW) research organization, revealed by the Washington Free Beacon, alleges that schools operated by the Palestinian Authority (PA) have incorporated the October 7 massacre into their regular curriculum.

The material documented by PMW has sparked concern in Washington, particularly as Ramallah seeks a role in the administration of the Gaza Strip following the war.

The investigation includes photographs, videos and lesson plans that PMW says demonstrate direct glorification of the October 7 attack,including in mathematics lessons for third-grade students.

At the PA-run Al-Kuwait Elementary School, nine-year-old students were reportedly given the following math problem: “In the ‘Al-Aqsa Flood,’ at least 150 Israelis were killed in one day. How many were killed in nine days?”

The correct answer — 1,350 — was accompanied by the teacher’s praise: “May Allah protect you! Excellent!”

Another exercise dealt with the deployment of Hamas’s elite Nukhba forces: “The Al-Qassam Brigades sent 150 jihad fighters to nine settlements. How many entered in total?” The teacher reportedly praised the correct answer with the words: “Champion! Victory for the residents of Gaza!”

The investigation also documents what PMW describes as school ceremonies glorifying the perpetrators of the October 7 attack. According to the report, celebrations or assemblies were held at at least 11 schools, where students recited poems and songs praising the massacre.

At an elementary school in Tulkarm, a female student was recorded reciting: “We came to you in multitudes, open the door — we are death… We will cool the fire in our hearts with body parts and the screams of the soldiers.”

In the town of Khursa, near Hebron, another student reportedly described the morning of October 7 as “a beautiful dream that we did not want to wake up from.”

The findings prompted a strong reaction from the U.S. State Department, which described the material as “terror grooming and education for murder.”

An official statement said that the October 7 massacre was being celebrated in PA schools, with children portraying the attack as a day of “joy,” “pride” and “victory,” while schools glorified Hamas and bloodshed. “This is terror grooming — teaching the next generation to celebrate murder,” the statement said.

Israel’s Foreign Ministry also sharply criticized the findings and condemned the PA’s educational system.

The report comes as the United States and other countries debate possible arrangements for the reconstruction and future governance of Gaza. U.S. officials have indicated that continued incitement would conflict with commitments made by the Palestinian Authority to reform its educational system and combat incitement. The findings could therefore complicate efforts to give the PA any supervisory role over education in Gaza.

The issue is particularly sensitive because proponents of a future PA role in Gaza have argued that the authority could provide an alternative to Hamas rule. Critics, however, have repeatedly questioned whether the PA’s institutions,including its education system,  have undergone sufficient ideological reform.

Itamar Marcus, founder and director of Palestinian Media Watch, who presented the report to senior U.S. officials, said the findings demonstrate what he described as a systemic problem within the Palestinian education system.

“Ministry of Education officials, principals and teachers are poisoning children’s minds,” Marcus said.“Demanding cosmetic changes to textbooks without replacing the system and its personnel is like treating cancer with aspirin,” he added.

Marcus has long argued that the PA’s educational system promotes hostility toward Israel and glorifies Palestinian terrorists. Palestinian officials have disputed many of PMW’s interpretations of Palestinian educational materials and have previously rejected accusations that their education system systematically incites terrorism.

The findings also drew criticism from Rep. Pat Fallon, a member of the House Armed Services Committee. “Palestinian Authority schools institutionalize terrorism and hatred of Jews,” Fallon said.“The idea that they are systematically promoting the October 7 massacre to children is the definition of evil, and they must not be allowed any foothold in governing Gaza,” he added.

The controversy places renewed scrutiny on the Palestinian Authority’s educational policies at a time when its potential involvement in postwar Gaza is being debated. For Washington and Jerusalem, the central question is whether the PA can credibly serve as part of a future governing framework while material that glorifies attacks on Israelis continues to appear in schools under its administration.