'All Palestine' map in URWA school
'All Palestine' map in URWA schoolPMW

During a recent visit by United Nations chief Ban Ki-moon to a Gaza school run under the auspices of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), a map erasing the State of Israel was hidden from view, covered with a long white cloth.

The official Palestinian Authority map, which replaces the State of Israel with “Palestine”, is prominently featured in many Arab schools across the Gaza Strip and Judea and Samaria.

On Tuesday, however, the Ma’an news agency discovered that during a press conference at a UNRWA school in the Al-Zeitoun neighborhood of Gaza City one such map was concealed.

Comparing photographs before and during the press conference revealed that the map was indeed hidden from view, the Palestinian Media Watch has reported.

Following the report, however, UNRWA officials denied the map was hidden, claiming that when the UN chief had toured the school, the map was uncovered.

“During the visit of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in one of the UNRWA schools, the map of historical Mandatory Palestine was not covered,” said UNRWA media advisor Adnan Abu Hasna.

“He visited the school when the map was not covered. There was no covered map, and no senior UNRWA official ordered to cover the map. Its presence does not harm the neutrality of UNRWA.”

In 2013 the Palestinian Authority took a similar action, hiding a monument which replaced the State of Israel with ‘Palestine’ during a state visit by President Obama.