WEST Belfast MLA Gerry Carroll says he will submit an Assembly motion of no confidence in Education Minister Paul Givan following the DUP man's 'fact-finding' trip to Israel.

Minister Givan is believed to travelled to Israel in a personal capacity, yet his Department of Education officials back home have been highlighting his visit by issuing a press release and posting on social media.

The Education Minister was joined by DUP colleagues Sammy Wilson, David Brooks and Newtownabbey councillor Ben Mallon on the six-day visit.

Former Ulster Unionist Party leader Steve Aiken and TUV deputy leader Ron McDowell are also on the trip, which has been paid for by the Israeli government.

Despite having nothing to do with the unionist PRV visit to Israel, the Department of Education posted a picture and press release of Minister Givan's visit to to the Ofek School in Jerusalem were issued.

People Before Profit MLA Gerry Carroll said the Department of Education have questions to answer.

"By the end of 2024, 534 school buildings in Palestine were bombed or damaged by Israel," he said. "Over 600,000 students in the region have been left without access to education and 20,000 children have been murdered by the Israeli war machine.

"The fact that the Minister deems it appropriate to visit Israel two years into its genocidal assault on Palestine shows he is completely tone-deaf.

“The Department of Education has been actively promoting the Minister’s visit, which is totally inappropriate. This trip is clearly politically motivated, as demonstrated by the fact that some of the most vocal Zionists in the Assembly and Belfast City Council have joined the Minister on this trip.

"The Minister and his colleagues seting off on this junket just as the Education Authority revealed a £300 million black hole in its budget adds further insult to injury.

“I am in the process of submitting an Assembly motion expressing no confidence in the Minister and calling for his exclusion from office for a period of six months.

"I hope all MLAs who have correctly called what Israel is doing a genocide will back this motion. There must be consequences for genocide."

A spokesperson for the Department of Education said: "The Education Minister was invited by the Government of Israel to participate in an official visit as part of a delegation of representatives from Northern Ireland. 

"The Department has not incurred any costs in relation to the visit and no departmental officials are participating."

The Department declined to say if the Minister planned to visit damaged or destroyed schools in Gaza, where tens of thousands of schoolchildren have died in indiscriminate Israeli bombing.