Apple pullts out IntiFada from app store

Apple Inc has removed an Arabic-language app from the iTunes app store which called for a Palestinian uprising after receiving a complaint from the Israeli government.

We removed this app from the App Store because it violates the developer guidelines by being offensive to large groups of people, BBC quoted Apple spokesperson as saying.

The apple app known as ThirdIntifada which was released a few days ago contained the forthcoming protests and provided news reports and editorials in Arabic.

The app did not rake in huge download numbers, but because of its highly bold and controversial subject matter, it ended up trickling all the way to the Israeli government.

From browsing through the articles, stories and photographs that appear in the app, it is clear that this is an anti-Israeli and anti-Zionist application that in fact, as its name suggests, calls for an uprising against Israel, said Israeli Minister of Public Affairs and the Diaspora Yuli Edelstein in a letter sent to Apple founder Steve Jobs.

As implied by its name, the application calls for an uprising against the State of Israel. I am convinced that you are aware of this type of application's ability to unite many toward an objective that could be disastrous, Edelstein wrote in the e-mail.

Apple representative Tom Neumayr defended the decision, saying the app violates the developer guidelines by being offensive to large groups of people.

Facebook has also removed a page in March which called for a Palestinian uprising against Israel after more than 350,000 people signed up to it.