Israeli Education Minister Yuli Tamir has ordered that new textbooks no longer show the occupied West Bank as part of Israel.
Tamir, a member of the Peace Now group that opposes West Bank settlement, said Tuesday the textbooks must show the Green Line that divides Israel from the West Bank. Israel seized the territory in the 1967 Six-Day War.
About 200,000 Jews live in West Bank settlements, among more than two million Palestinians. Israel occupies the area but has not annexed it. Many settlers want the enclaves to be incorporated into the Jewish state.
The Palestinians hope to establish an independent state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
Pro-settlement Jewish activists are criticizing the education minister. A member of parliament from Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's Kadima party, Ronit Tirosh, said the minister has no right to make the decision.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.
