# PalestineIsHere – is one of the most popular hashtags recent days, which caused a real storm in the Arab world. It all began with a statement published on August 3 by the Forum of Journalists Palestinian.
Journalists – not mincing words – accused Google of “complicity in the ethnic cleansing carried out by the Israeli government against the Palestinians” by removing names “Palestine” from Google Maps.
statement quickly spread on the Internet and social media. Twitter users plied service entries criticizing Google’s alleged decision. It was also created a petition demanding an immediate return Palestine to Google Maps. So far, it has signed nearly 300 thousand. people.
Indeed, when run Google maps and you type the name “Palestine” is – although the application will take us to the vicinity of Jerusalem, Hebron and Jericho – this area is labeled ” Palestine”. We see only a dotted line that distinguishes Palestinian territory from the area of Israel.
Palestinian journalists and hundreds of thousands of Internet users do not have, however, because when you suggest that the name “Palestine” was removed by Google. Palestine – as a separate territory – never in Google Maps because it was, and informed the company of Mountain View said in a statement:
– There has never been a label “Palestine” in Google Maps, though recently we discovered that due to an error with the application have been removed labels “West Bank” and “Gaza Strip”. Currently working for both names as soon as possible returned – wrote Google.
Not only Palestine
Controversy around the absence of Palestine on the maps is one of the many geo-political problems that must measure up Google. The network was established even website “Disputed Territories”, which shows how the Google Maps represent the so-called. disputed territories citizens of individual countries and regions.
A perfect example is the Crimea. Recall that in 2014 there was a so-called declaration of independence. Autonomous Republic of Crimea, which was then annexed by Russia. Ukraine and most of the international community focused at the United Nations does not recognize, however, these two events.
As this problem coped Google? When we find a Russian-speaking Crimea on the maps, it is presented as an independent territory, clearly separated from the Ukraine. However, when we repeat the same maneuver in the Polish version of the site is from the Ukraine Crimea is separated only by a dashed line (as in the case of Israel and Palestine).
With similar situations we have to do well in for other disputed territories such as Arunachal Pradesh (ongoing dispute over the region, China and India), Kashmir (dispute India and Pakistan) or Senkaku Islands (Japan, China and Taiwan)
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