Internet giant Google adopts `Palestine`

Zee Media Bureau

Ramallah: In yet another indication of growing international acceptance of Palestine as an independent state, Internet giant Google has reportedly changed the tagline on the front page of its Palestinian edition from "Palestinian Territories" to "Palestine". The changing of tagline by Gogle means the page www.google.ps will now display "Palestine" in Arabic under the main Google logo. 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 2012, the United Nations upgraded Palestine`s status in the world body. Palestine, which was previously recognised at the UN as an "entity", became a "non-member observer state" - a move that was strongly resisted by Israel and the United States. An earlier bid by the Palestinians to join the UN as a full member state in 2011 failed because of a lack of support among the security council. However, there has been no confirmation yet on the development from Google. With Agency inputs