The covered-up map of “historic Palestine” at a U.N.-run school in Gaza. Photo: Twitter.

JNS.org – A United Nations-run school in the Gaza Strip covered up a map of “historic Palestine” during a visit by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Tuesday.

According to reports, the map — which depicts “Palestine” as replacing Israel — was covered up with a white cloth during Ban’s press conference at the school. UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) school officials reportedly hid the map to avoid the eruption of a diplomatic controversy between the Palestinians and the United Nations.

An UNRWA spokesperson in Gaza, Adnan Abu Hasna, claimed that “there was no covered-up map during Ban’s press conference in Gaza,” Yedioth Ahronoth reported.

In his remarks in Gaza, Ban described Israel’s blockade of the Hamas-ruled coastal territory as a “collective punishment” of the Palestinians.