Illiteracy in Palestinian society estimated at 18%

The level of illiteracy among Palestinians has decreased slightly over the past year from 19 percent in 1997 to 18 percent in 1998, a report issued in Gaza said recently.

Imad Hattab, director of a program to fight Illiteracy at the Red Crescent Society in Gaza, said people between 10 and 29 years old had joined the center's programs. Illiteracy among women, however, is still high, and according to Hattab, some 33 percent of Palestinian women never went to school.