A Scottish council has come under fire for giving schoolchildren homework asking them to describe "Palestinian terrorist activities".
The homework paper refers to Palestinians as "separatists" and claims they "turned to terrorist methods for over 30 years" after their conflicts with Israel "always ended in their defeat".
The sheet also features a picture of an explosion under the instruction: "Describe TWO examples of Palestinian terrorist activities".
Absurd "homework" given to primary school children issued by North Lanarkshire Council. Shame on you, @nlcpeople.
North Lanarkshire council confirmed to BuzzFeed News that it produced the homework sheet “around 10 to 15 years ago” to teach children about terrorism.
It was given to a primary school pupil in Motherwell, North Lanarkshire, and uploaded to Facebook on Tuesday by her older sister Aliyah Shafiq.
"How is my little sister being made to answer questions like this for her homework???" Shafiq wrote on her Facebook page.
"This is completely unacceptable and 100% has to be complained about to North Lanarkshire council."
She added: "Guys can I just make it clear that although the homework was given to New Stevenston Primary P7 pupils, the actual sheet is from the council and NOT the school or any teacher directly."
Anti-Palestinian propaganda being distributed in schools by North Lanarkshire council #TrojanHorse
According to Shafiq’s Facebook page, she had a formal meeting with the head and deputy head of the primary school and was offered an apology.
"The school has apologised for any offence caused and have assured parents that this matter will be taken up to North Lanarkshire council and action will be taken," Shafiq wrote.
A spokesperson from North Lanarkshire council told BuzzFeed News that the homework had been designed by the council to teach about the "wider issue of terrorism" but that it had been "informally withdrawn a long time ago".
They said the paper may have been given to pupils "by accident" and that they were "looking into this further and taking further steps to make sure it's no longer used".
The spokesperson added that while the council was "reasonably confident the paper had not been distributed in other schools in the area", it could not confirm how many schools still had copies.
The description of Palestinian people is entirely inappropriate and we apologise unreservedly for the offence caused. http://t.co/Y2YaqxxnlP
"The homework material used was taken from a teaching pack which is now obsolete," the council said in an official statement.
It added:
We are contacting all schools to ensure this particular material is no longer used. The description of Palestinian people is entirely inappropriate and apologise unreservedly for the offence caused.
The topic is explored by pupils as part of the social studies programme: 'People, past events and societies' and this includes conflict situations around the world. This topic aims to gives pupils a greater understanding of the nature of different conflicts and their regional, global and historical significance and does not pass any judgement on the subject.