Waze navigation app recognizes Jordan Valley as part of sovereign Israel

The navigation app removes the “Area C” tag to the region, implicitly giving a nod to its anticipated official annexation to Israel.

By Batya Jerenberg, World Israel News

The Waze navigation application has removed the “Area C” warning tag to the Jordan Valley, implicitly recognizing it as part of sovereign Israel, reported Israel Hayom Wednesday.

David Elhayani, Jordan Valley regional council head, wrote to Waze Israel’s managing director, Guy Berkowitz, to thank him for the gesture.

“There’s been positive chatter among the residents of the Jordan Valley about how the biggest navigation application in the world has recognized the Jordan Valley as an inseparable part of the State of Israel. The pop-up that informs drivers that they are driving in Area C has been removed, and by doing so, you’ve given the Jordan Valley residents a warm and loving hug,” he wrote.

“This is a small step for Waze and a giant step for the Jordan Valley residents and the State of Israel,” he said.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promised before the last round of elections in September that if he forms the next government, he will immediately annex the region, which was liberated in the 1967 Six Day War.

President Trump’s newly unveiled “Peace to Prosperity Plan” for a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict also envisions that the Jordan Valley would become part of the State of Israel.

Yaron is one of the approximately 10,000 residents who live in 27 Jewish communities in the region. He told the Hebrew daily, “It made me very happy to hear about it. For years we felt like lepers. I always tell my acquaintances that its stupid not to use all the roads, but I know that many are afraid. Maybe removing the warning will bring them out to see the beautiful Valley and understand that it is part of their country.”

The cautionary indicator that people would be entering an area that is supposedly not quite Israel has been a deterrent factor to some, even though using the roads in the area would considerably shorten the journeys of many commuters.

Interestingly, Waze Israel’s reaction was decidedly noncommittal.

“After investigating the matter, the reaction we can give is that the matter is not known to us,” the company stated.