SAN FRANCISCO: American tech giant Apple on Thursday pledged to stop a Palestinian flag emoji being suggested to some users of iPhone, when they type Jerusalem in text messages.
The Silicon Valley company blamed a software bug for the suggestion, which triggered allegations that Apple was showing anti-Israel bias in the ongoing Gaza conflict.
Apple told the western media that the emoji suggestion in the iPhone was not intentional and would be resolved in the next update to the operating system of its mobile.
The problem was reported on social media by British television presenter Rachel Riley, renewing discussions over whether Palestinians or Israel have a rightful claim over Jerusalem as their capital.
Riley in a post on X, formerly Twitter, said when she typed the word Jerusalem, she was offered the Palestinian flag emoji asking Apple to explain.
She said no flag emojis were suggested when other capital cities are typed into the text messages of the iPhone.
Riley termed the issue a form of antisemitism, which is itself a form of racism against Jewish people.
She added the Palestinian flag emoji appeared in text messages with Jerusalem after a recent update of the iPhone operating system.
