Microsoft has made changes to its digital maps to include Palestinian geographical names and removed some “misleading” Israeli designations used in the occupied West Bank, a digital rights group said.
In a statement, the Arab Center for the Advancement of Social Media (7amleh) said the changes include location-based services, including the search engine “Bing,” where labels that previously listed locations in the occupied West Bank under “Judea and Samaria, Israel” were replaced with the term “West Bank.”
“Judea and Samaria” is an Israeli term to designate the occupied West Bank. However, under international law, the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, is regarded as Israeli-occupied Palestinian territory and a key component of a future Palestinian state.
The changes represent a “necessary correction,” said Lama Nazeeh, 7amleh’s advocacy manager, calling on technology companies to comply with international law and not contribute to the “digital erasure of Palestinian geography.”
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An Anadolu search on the Bing map also confirmed that the name West Bank has been adopted by Microsoft to refer to the Palestinian territory.
