JERUSALEM (Reuters) – A senior Israeli official accused Google on Monday of setting back Middle East peace hopes by putting the name “Palestine” under the banner of its search page for the Palestinian territories. (www.google.ps)
Palestinians hailed Google’s move as a virtual victory on the long path to the state they seek in the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza Strip, which Israel seized in the 1967 war.
With bilateral negotiations stalled for 2-1/2 years over Jewish settlement building, the Palestinians have campaigned for foreign recognition of statehood, and were upgraded to “non-member state” at the United Nations in November.