“US computer giant Apple has culled a Palestinian application from its iPhone offerings at the request of Israel,” a June 27 IOL.co.za article said.
“The Arabic-language app ThirdIntifada, released by Apple just days ago, provides users with details of upcoming anti-Israel protests, access to news articles and editorials, and links to Palestinian nationalist material.”
Pro-Palestinian demonstrators pointed out the term intifada, which means mass uprising, did not refer to violence.
However, Israeli public diplomacy minister Yuli Edelstein said the iPhone app was “anti-Israel and anti-Zionist”, and warned that it could “unite many towards an objective that could be disastrous”.
The article reported that Apple said the app “violates the developer guidelines by being offensive to large groups of people”.
The article said: “The campaign underscores Israeli fears that if a much-anticipated Palestinian bid to seek recognition of statehood at the UN in September is thwarted, it could trigger a new uprising against Israel's 44-year occupation.
“Arab Spring protests have inspired many Palestinians to hope that Israel's occupation of the West Bank and Gaza can be ended through peaceful resistance.”
The article pointed out Apple has already pulled an unofficial WikiLeaks app that enabled people to make donations to the whistle-blowing site “after PayPal, MasterCard and Visa all cancelled their cooperation with WikiLeaks in what appeared part of a concerted campaign”.