UN Watch Report: Schools in the Grip of Terror:
How UNRWA Allowed Hamas Chiefs to Control Its Education System

The September 2025 report, Schools in the Grip of Terror by UN Watch, documents how Hamas systematically infiltrated UNRWA’s education system in Gaza and Lebanon by placing its operatives—including Suhail Al-Hindi and Fateh Sharif—into senior roles as school principals, teachers, and union leaders. Despite public evidence of their terrorist affiliations, UNRWA repeatedly capitulated to Hamas pressure, reinstating suspended staff, tolerating incitement, and even allowing Hamas-controlled unions to block curriculum reforms and disciplinary actions. The study concludes that UNRWA has become structurally compromised, turning classrooms into incubators for radicalization and terrorism, and urges donor governments to condition funding on sweeping reforms to restore neutrality and accountability.

The following is an executive summary of the report. For the full report, click here.

This report by UN Watch reveals how Hamas has systematically taken control of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency’s (UNRWA) education system in Gaza and Lebanon. Despite receiving more than $1 billion annually from Western donors to promote peace, tolerance, and human rights, UNRWA schools have been overseen by Hamas operatives who recruit child soldiers, glorify suicide bombers, and incite hatred against Israel.

The case of Suhail Al-Hindi in Gaza illustrates this pattern. For years, Al-Hindi served simultaneously as a Hamas leader and an UNRWA school principal and union chief, overseeing thousands of teachers and students. Even when UNRWA suspended him in 2011 for appearing with Hamas leaders, coordinated mass protests forced the agency to back down and formally agree not to discipline staff for “external activities,” effectively sanctioning Hamas involvement. Al-Hindi continued to influence UNRWA after his 2017 resignation and was celebrated for opposing Holocaust education and maps recognizing Israel’s legitimacy.

In Lebanon, Fateh Sharif replicated this model. As an UNRWA school principal and head of the Lebanon Teachers’ Union, he publicly aligned with Hamas and directed teachers under his command to spread Hamas ideology. Despite years of documented evidence, UNRWA only suspended him under donor pressure in 2024—shortly before he died in an Israeli strike, after which Hamas openly acknowledged him as their leader in Lebanon. Sharif’s associates, also deeply tied to Hamas, continued to hold senior educational roles within UNRWA.

The findings are corroborated by Israeli intelligence showing that over 15% of UNRWA senior educators in Gaza are members of Hamas or Palestinian Islamic Jihad. Through control of staff unions, Hamas has blocked attempts to reform curricula, prevented enforcement of neutrality policies, and placed operatives in positions of educational authority. These dynamics have repeatedly forced UNRWA’s international staff to retreat in fear, leaving local Hamas-linked personnel firmly in control.

The report concludes that UNRWA’s problem is systemic. The agency has become structurally dependent on Hamas-controlled staff unions, transforming its schools into hubs of radicalization rather than education. Unless fundamental reforms are imposed—including international oversight of hiring, strict vetting of employees, and the dissolution of politicized unions—donor governments risk perpetuating a cycle of indoctrination and terrorism under the guise of humanitarian aid.

Source: “Report: UN Watch Exposes Hamas Takeover of UNRWA Schools in Gaza and Lebanon,” UN Watch, (September 17, 2025).