China removes Israel as country from online maps

Top Chinese tech companies Alibaba and Baidu have dropped Israel’s official name from their digital maps available online. The move comes as the Chinese internet is getting inundated with antisemitism following the war between the Jewish country and the Islamist terror outfit Hamas.The Wall Street Journal initially reported this change on Monday, revealing that both Baidu and Alibaba have ceased referring to Israel by name on their digital maps.

Instead, Baidu's Chinese language online maps now display the internationally recognized borders of Israel, the Palestinian territories, and key cities, without explicitly labeling the country by its name.Notably, while even smaller nations like Luxembourg are depicted with their names intact, Israel has been conspicuously omitted. Additionally, Chinese media has criticised the United States for its stance on the Gaza conflict, accusing it of being on the "wrong side of history." Notably, Chinese President Xi Jinping has expressed strong support for Palestine, emphasising the need to rectify historical injustices suffered by the Palestinian people.