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  Google says Palestine was never shown on its maps

Google says Palestine was never shown on its maps

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Published : Aug 11, 2016, 3:30 am IST
Updated : Aug 11, 2016, 3:30 am IST

Google Maps shows only an outline of Palestine and does not label it. The Gaza Strip and the West Bank are defined with a dashed border — the mark Google uses to outline disputed territories. (Photo: Via Web)

PALESTINE.jpg
 PALESTINE.jpg

Google Maps shows only an outline of Palestine and does not label it. The Gaza Strip and the West Bank are defined with a dashed border — the mark Google uses to outline disputed territories. (Photo: Via Web)

Amid accusations that Google deleted Palestine from Google Maps, the Internet giant said that Palestine never was labelled by Google in the first place.

There had been a row after a glitch caused the West Bank and Gaza to briefly disappear from Google Maps.

Google Maps shows an outline of Palestine but with no label. Instead, the Gaza Strip and the West Bank is defined with a dashed border — the mark Google uses to outline disputed territories. While 136 members of the UN recognise Palestine as an independent state, the US and much of the West does not.

After a forum of Palestinian journalists released a statement condemning Google, there was outrage on the Internet as people started venting their anger using the hashtag #PalestineIsHere. A Google spokeswoman said: “There has never been a 'Palestine' label on Google Maps, however, we discovered a bug that removed the labels for 'West Bank' and 'Gaza Strip'. We're working quickly to bring these labels back to the area."

A petition from March this year urging Google to include Palestine on their maps now has almost 250,000 signatures, according to the Guardian.

This has raised questions about how mapping technologies affect people's understanding of the world.

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