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Google edition adopts 'Palestine' | Google edition adopts 'Palestine' |
(about 2 hours later) | |
Internet giant Google has changed the tagline on the homepage of its Palestinian edition from "Palestinian Territories" to "Palestine". | |
The change, introduced on 1 May, means google.ps now displays "Palestine" in Arabic and English under Google's logo. | |
The terminology is a politically contentious issue, with the final status of the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem yet to be agreed. | The terminology is a politically contentious issue, with the final status of the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem yet to be agreed. |
In November, the UN gave Palestine the status of "non-member observer state". | |
The decision by the General Assembly was strongly opposed by Israel and the United States. Previously, the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) only had "permanent observer" status. | |
It followed a failed Palestinian bid to join the international body as a full member state in 2011 because of a lack of support in the UN Security Council. | |
In a statement given to the BBC on Friday, Google spokesman Nathan Tyler said: "We're changing the name 'Palestinian Territories' to 'Palestine' across our products. We consult a number of sources and authorities when naming countries. | |
"In this case, we are following the lead of the UN, Icann [the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers], ISO [International Organisation for Standardisation] and other international organisations." |