Israel allows Google Earth to show Jerusalem
Jerusalem will be shown in Google Earth and Google Maps after the Jerusalem City Council signed an agreement with the company. The sight of the city was prohibited for security reasons so far.
According to the Israeli newspaper Maariv, the government decided to end the prohibition, considering that the Dome of the Rock and the Al Aqsa Mosque are so representative of the city like other important monuments over the World, like the Coliseum in Rome.
The government of Israel did not allow Google to show satellite imagery of Jerusalem and its Old City, but now both areas of the capital will be visible from the Internet. The Palestinians are not allowed to enter Jerusalem without obtaining a permit from the Israeli government, and being able view it on the Internet gets them a little closer to the Holy City.
For Israel, the city that is disputed with Palestine should be declared “eternal capital”. This generates some controversy as the United Nations does not recognize the annexation of the eastern and most countries chose to locate their embassies in Tel Aviv.
