In the heat of  the bold BDS (Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions) movement, tensions between pro-Israel and pro-Palestine/anti-occupation groups (now including the Movement for Black Lives) are being stoked by the present and potential effects of Google Maps erasing Palestine by name and replacing it completely with Israel as of July 25.

In a statement issued by the Palestinian Journalists’ Forum, the erasure is referred to as “part of the Israeli scheme to establish its name as a legitimate state for generations to come and abolish Palestine once and for all” and “a failed attempt to tamper with the memory of Palestinians and Arabs as well as the rest of the world.” Google Maps later stated that the absence of a Palestine label is how the map has always been, and that the erasure of named regions such as West Bank and the Gaza Strip was caused by a bug. Critics believe the omission of any indicators that regions are being occupied is in itself tampering with the narrative.

The implications and consequences of Google's decision to leave these areas unmarked were described by the Forum as “falsify[ing] history, geography as well as the Palestinian people's right to their homeland.” Erasing an existing state with a human population from a world map during a violent occupation has had an impact on discussions of the Israeli occupation already. However, Andrew Kadi of the U.S. Campaign to End the Occupation argues that the debate "overlooks that Google has not been labelling these areas correctly anyway."

A Facebook group and multiple petitions have taken up the cause of getting Palestine recognized and documented by Google. In the past, Palestinians have called out Google for leaving maps of Palestinian territories blank.