ALBAWABA - A map handed out by Israel’s Foreign Ministry has sparked a row because it seemed to show parts of occupied southern Lebanon as being inside Israel, sparking claims that the country is seeking to normalize territorial changes thru official government publications.
The ministry’s X account posted the map in a post that showed child malnutrition statistics across the Middle East. The article was about humanitarian data but people quickly observed that the map itself showed Lebanon’s southern border as not in accordance with internationally recognized borders.
The design looked to splice parts of southern Lebanon and Israel together, drawing outrage from Lebanese lawmakers, media outlets and social media users, who questioned if the illustration was an official political statement.
Lebanese daily Al Liwaa queried whether the Israeli government was indicating the annexation of occupied Lebanese territory and urged Lebanese officials and negotiators to seek explanation on the map’s implications.
The image rapidly went viral on social media, with many users arguing that continuously posting maps that show disputed territory as part of Israel could be an attempt to influence public opinion and normalize the status of occupied land.
The map was more than a cartography blunder, critics said, and was part of a wider attempt to promote territorial claims thru visual messages. At press time, Israeli officials had not publicly commented on the controversy.
The event comes amid ongoing tensions along the Israeli-Lebanese border, where territory disputes remain one of the most contentious problems between the two sides.
