Saudi texbooks revise maps, language regarding Palestine: Israeli study
An Israeli think-tank study reported significant changes in Saudi school textbooks, notably the removal of references to "Palestine" from most maps and a shift in language concerning Israel. The study, conducted by NGO Impact-se, analyzed textbooks from 2019 to 2024, revealing alterations, removals, and unchanged content.
Among the findings, a social studies textbook for grade 12 no longer taught Zionism as a racist movement since 2023. Additionally, another textbook eliminated the chapter addressing the Palestinian cause. Notably, maps in social studies textbooks for grades five and nine consistently omitted Palestine and Israel, a departure from previous versions.
According to the report, most maps excluded all countries not bordering Saudi Arabia, including Palestine. Moreover, two maps in a geography textbook for grades 10-12 no longer featured any country names bordering Saudi Arabia. Islamic studies and geography textbooks for grades 10-12 also replaced maps showing historic Palestine with Israel.
Further adjustments included the removal of references to Israel as "the Zionist entity" in a 2022 social studies textbook. Additionally, a textbook discussing Arab and Saudi support for the Palestinian cause was discontinued in 2023.
The study also noted a shift in tone regarding Israel. For instance, a high school social studies textbook revised references to Israel as "the Zionist enemy" to "the Israeli occupation army" in its 2022 edition.
Saudi Arabia, which had not formally recognized Israel since its establishment in 1948, faced speculation about potential normalization of relations, akin to Bahrain and the UAE. However, recent events, such as the Hamas-led attack on Israel in October and subsequent conflict resulting in Palestinian casualties, deterred such efforts.
The Saudi foreign ministry affirmed that no normalization would occur without progress toward Palestinian statehood and a ceasefire.
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58-year-old man booked for raping minor girl in Thane
Thane (PTI): Police have registered a case against a 58-year-old man for allegedly raping a 10-year-old girl in Maharashtra's Thane district, officials said on Tuesday.
The accused allegedly committed the crime between December 2025 and February this year after luring the victim under some pretext to his house at Nizampura in the Bhiwandi area, an official from Bhoiwada police station said.
Based on a complaint by the victim's family, the police on Sunday registered a case against the accused under sections 64 (rape) and 74 (assault or criminal force to a woman with intent to outrage her modesty) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, he said.
No reason was specified for the delay in filing the complaint by the victim's family.
