by Tyler Durden

The Wall Street Journal has confirmed internet users' deepening suspicions that the country of Israel has disappeared from several online maps after the 'mistake' began to gain increased attention. "Internet users in China are expressing bewilderment that the name Israel doesn't appear on leading online digital maps from Baidu and Alibaba, an ambiguity that matches Beijing's vague diplomacy in the region and contrasts with its attentiveness to maps generally," WSJ writes Tuesday. But some pundits have said the claim is misleading, stressing that many Chinese maps don't label "disputed areas" by default.  

The internationally recognized borders of the Israeli state are also missing. The report says that Israel may have gone 'missing' on the popular maps since the start of the Oct.7 conflict and Israel's subsequent bombing campaign on Gaza. 

But as WSJ also points out, neither major Chinese company has publicly acknowledged the missing country information:

The same is true with online maps produced by Alibaba's Amap, where even small nations like Luxembourg are clearly marked. Neither company responded to questions on Monday. It is unclear whether the development is new, though it has been discussed by Chinese internet users since war broke out.

China's government has over the years cried foul and levied fines over maps published elsewhere online, such as on hotel websites, for failing to strictly adhere to Beijing's territorial claims, like leaving off a nine-dotted line stretching around the South China Sea that isn't internationally recognized.

Indeed this could be a subtle game of 'retaliation' for when Western sources publish maps which Beijing vehemently disagrees with, such as depicting Taiwan as independent from the Chinese mainland.