In the West Bank, driving at all has become an exercise in frustration-true of most of the postwar fallout since violence erupted after last October’s Gaza war. Apps such as Google Maps are designed to guide them-but most drivers feel they’re haphazardly rendered with data that’s very old, much missing and not reflecting local restrictions. The result is general irritation among Palestinian drivers.
In return, many have started using social media and messaging applications to disseminate updates on road conditions and checkpoints in real time, filling the gaps left by traditional navigation tools. As a recent Wired report explained, this has been one of community-driven relief, but the problem points to a greater problem: how tech giants fail to tailor their services to the particular landscape of the West Bank.
The combination of roads, checkpoints, and restrictions in the region makes mapping very complex. Google has itself highlighted the complexity, pointing to a lack of consistent data and the fast-changing nature of the conditions on the ground.
The company says it has added 5,000 miles of roads in the West Bank and Gaza since 2021 and recently added updates to improve address search. These improvements notwithstanding, many users report a continued number of problems, routing through roads forbidden to non-Israelis or blocked by walls and checkpoints.
Some of these challenges emanate from outside, such as Israeli interference with GPS signals that upsets location tracking. Critics say Google can do more to address the peculiar needs of Palestinian users. Reports that employees within the company have been advocating for changes, though, have been slow, leaving many feeling overlooked.
For some users, such as human rights attorney Diana Buttu, Google Maps can lead to dangerous situations. The app has routed her onto roads leading to Israeli settlements, forcing confrontation based on identity alone. Some have seen routes between cities in the West Bank that won’t calculate, compelling them to seek alternative ways to get directions.
While Google Maps has failed to serve their purpose, Palestinians are now looking at the messaging platforms Telegram and WhatsApp and a local app called Azmeh-an Arabic term for “traffic jam”-that helps the people update live about the road condition and checkpoints. Even in this crowdsourced solution, surprises and changeable rules result in a need for drivers to make leeway for delay.
Despite its many limitations, Google Maps is still an essential tool in the West Bank, if nothing else a starting point. Company officials say they are working to improve their services here, but the pace has been slow, and many customers are skeptical. Features that would make the app much more useful, such as identifying Palestinian-friendly establishments or restricted roads, are still unavailable.
For now, navigating the West Bank requires a mixture of technology, community networks, and local knowledge. The hope is that in the future, tools like Google Maps better reflect on-the-ground realities, easing the burdens of living in one of the most complicated parts of the world. Until then, drivers like Buttu keep driving through a landscape that needs reliable mapping tools.
