Yahoo – AFP,
May 6, 2014
 |
| 'iNakba' app finds former Palestinian towns in Israel (AFP) |
The launch
is timed to coincide with Israel's 66th independence day, which begins at
sundown, when the Palestinians remember the "Nakba" or "catastrophe"
that befell them when Israel came into existence in 1948, and 760,000 of them
fled or were forced into exile.
"iNakba"
features an interactive map and photos of buildings and houses that
Palestinians fled during the fighting which erupted after Israel declared
itself independent.
"Many
Palestinians have difficulty locating their home towns and villages (in Israel
and the West Bank), because cities or Jewish settlements have been built on top
of them," said Raneen Jeries of Zochrot, the NGO that developed the app.
"There's
a file on each of hundreds of Palestinian villages or cities, and you can find
information and see old and new user-uploaded photos about the locality,"
she told AFP.
Zochrot,
based in Tel Aviv, campaigns for Israelis to recognise the right of Palestinian
refugees to return to their homes, along with their descendants.
The right
of return for Palestinian refugees has long been a key sticking point in
Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, the latest round of which collapsed in late
April after nine months of apparently fruitless negotiations.
Israel
fears that any flexibility on the issue would open the floodgates to millions
of refugees, which would pose a demographic threat to the "Jewish and
democratic character" of the state.
Palestinians
mark Nakba Day every year on May 15.
"Our
aim is to make Israeli Jews aware of the Nakba, which uprooted hundreds of
thousands of Palestinians," said Liat Rosenberg, director of Zochrot.
Palestinians
in the diaspora can "follow" their own villages to watch for new
information or pictures posted by those who are able to visit them inside
Israel, Jeries said.
"Refugees
living in Lebanon, for example, can follow their village and each time someone
uploads a photo of it or writes a comment, they'll see an update."
Zochrot
uses maps from British Mandate Palestine (1920-1948) to locate the villages,
Jeries said, and marks them on the interactive Google Maps-based app with
virtual "pins".
Rosenberg
admitted iNakba might not have the desired impact on most Israeli Jews, but
insisted that "left-leaning Israelis will be interested in the app".
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