British Museum removes word ‘Palestine’ from displays after pressure by pro-Israel lawyers
The British Museum has removed the word Palestine from displays about the ancient Middle East following “concerns” by a UK-based Israeli advocacy group.
The British Museum has confirmed that it is reviewing and updating some gallery panels and labels after “Audience testing has shown that the historic use of the term Palestine … is in some circumstances no longer meaningful,” UK Lawyers for Israel (UKLFI) said in a statement.
The group claimed there were “historically inaccurate” references to Palestine in displays covering the ancient Levant and Egypt. It said applying a single name across thousands of years “erases historical changes and creates a false impression of continuity.”
The statement said responding to the concerns, the British Museum’s spokesperson confirmed it was in the process of reviewing and updating panels and labels on a case-by-case basis.
“For example, the information panels in the Levant gallery, covering the period 2000-300 BC, have all been updated to describe in some detail the history of Canaan and the Canaanites and the rise of the kingdoms of Judah and Israel using those names. A revised text devoted to the Phoenicians was installed in early 2025,” it added.
Rewriting history, how British.
Palestine signs $27m aid agreement with Japan
Palestine’s Minister of Finance and Planning Istifan Salameh has signed a new agreement with Japan for the provision of humanitarian services in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip.
Japan’s aid package of US $27.3m will be allocated to support waste management, water and sanitation, the health sector, infrastructure projects including roads, and the energy sector.
Salameh said the support is an “important step to enhance the resilience of citizens and improve basic services”, Wafa news agency quoted him as saying.
The agreement was signed in Ramallah, the occupied West Bank, at the Finance Ministry in the presence of Japan’s Ambassador to Palestine Ariaki Matsuhiko and a representative of the Japan International Cooperation Agency.
