An exhibition showcasing paintings of maps without Israel has been held in southern Lebanon.
According to Palestinian Media Watch, the Norwegian People’s Aid NGO funded the exhibition that was mounted at the Al-Burj Al-Shamali refugee camp next to the city of Tyre.
The maps at the exhibit, titled “This is Palestine,” were painted by Palestinian children living in Lebanon.
The exhibition has angered the Israeli media and officials.
The Norwegian government, the Canadian International Development Agency and other international donors are among sponsors of the NGO.
Recently, HarperCollins Publishers, based in the United States, has sold atlases to English-speaking schools in some Persian Gulf countries that have no place named Israel in its maps.
Under huge pressure from the Israeli lobby in the United States, the company has regretted publishing the maps. The move has also triggered anger in the occupied Palestinian lands.
The company, which is a subsidiary of Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp, had initially defended the publishing of the atlases and described it as a predetermined policy.
Muslims in the Persian Gulf and Middle East see the Israeli entity as completely illegitimate as it was established in 1948 in the territories that were occupied illegally. Since then the entity has pursued a policy of expansion mainly through forced evacuation of people, expansion of settlements and waging war on defenseless civilians.
