This paper explores the politics of education in countries affected by conflict. Drawing particularly on the Palestinian experience, it looks at the power relations among internal and external actors that shape the curriculum-building process. In the increasingly politicised world of international aid, especially in the Middle East, it challenges the idea that international agencies and donors can take a neutral approach to education. Unlike the other three pillars of humanitarian response--food, health and shelter--education is never neutral, it is intrinsically ideological and political. (Contains 1 note.)