Holy Land: new web App maps activity on West Bank

A fascinating new website and smartphone App has been launched today, giving a real time, comprehensive birds-eye view of what is happening on the West Bank.

Developed by Americans for Peace Now, 'Facts on the Ground: The APN Map Project' 'App' for iPhone and iPad devices, is available also on the web and provides detail and context for the debate on Israeli settlements in the West Bank.

It allows anyone with a computer or a smartphone to access a comprehensive settlements database, integrated with high-tech mapping technologies. APN's new app will be updated constantly to reflect breaking events and issues in the news, such as new settlement plans and construction, the establishment or removal of outposts, or violent incidents
perpetrated by Palestinians or by settlers.

"The transparency this tool offers is doubly important at this time, as Israel considers abandoning its 'freeze' on new settlement construction," said Debra DeLee, APN's President and CEO. "Anyone, anywhere, can now log in and see the realities on the ground," she said.

"This new app shows the unfiltered realities that settlements create on the ground of the West Bank. While people are entitled to their opinions on this divisive issue, there is only one set of facts, and our app makes these facts available in unprecedented clarity and detail," DeLee added. "This unique tool - there is nothing like it anywhere else - is made possible through the unparalleled depth and breadth of the expertise of the Israeli Peace Now movement's Settlements Watch team."

APN's new app draws on data collected by Israel's Peace Now movement, much of which was previously inaccessible or too costly to distribute globally. "One of the things that make this tool so powerful is that it democratizes data," DeLee said. "In the past, not many were able to tour the settlements with an expert guide. With the introduction of our app, anyone can explore the West Bank with just a click of a mouse or a touch of a finger."

DeLee said: "We hope this app will revolutionize the debate over West Bank settlements, breaking through polemics and spin, and anchoring the discussion in the facts." She added, "Almost a year of hard work went into creating this tool. The result is dazzling. We invite everyone to check it out online or download it and see for themselves."

The application 'Facts on the Ground: The APN Map Project' is available, free, for iPhones and iPads, through iTunes. The web-based version is available, at: www.peacenow.org/map

The application will soon be available for other hand-held devices. A Hebrew version is currently under development.