The HarperCollins publishing house apologized for omitting Israel from maps in atlases that it sells to English-speaking schools in the Middle East.

“HarperCollins regrets the omission of the name Israel from their Collins Middle East Atlas. This product has now been removed from sale in all territories and all remaining stock will be pulped. HarperCollins sincerely apologizes for this omission and for any offense caused,” it said in a statement released late Wednesday.

The atlas remained available on vendors’ websites such as Amazon and Barnes and Noble on Thursday, however.

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The apology came less than a day after Collins Bartholomew, a map-publishing company that is a subsidiary of HarperCollins, told The Tablet, an international Catholic news weekly based in London, that including Israel in its “Collins Primary Geography Atlas For The Middle East” would have been “unacceptable” to their customers in the Gulf and that leaving Israel off the maps incorporated “local preferences.”

While Israel is not demarcated on the maps, the West Bank is clearly labeled.

Collins Bartholomew told The Tablet that including Israel in its atlas for the Middle East would have been “unacceptable” to its customers in the Gulf, and leaving Israel off the maps incorporated “local preferences.”

The atlas was billed by the company as being “developed specifically for schools in the Middle East,” according to its website. “The maps give in-depth coverage of the region and its issues,” it also states.

Bishop Declan Lang, chairman of the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales Department of International Affairs, told The Tablet that the maps will harm peace efforts.

“The publication of this atlas will confirm Israel’s belief that there exists a hostility towards their country from parts of the Arab world. It will not help to build up a spirit of trust leading to peaceful co-existence,” he said.

Customs officials in one Gulf nation previously did not allow the school atlases into the country until the labeling of Israel had been crossed out by hand, according to The Tablet.

Dr Jane Clements, director of the UK’s Council of Christians and Jews, said: “Maps can be a very powerful tool in terms of delegitimizing ‘the other’…We would be keen to see relevant bodies ensure that all atlases anywhere reflect the official United Nations position on nations, boundaries and all political features.”

Last year, Scholastic publishing house came under fire after a children’s book it published erased Israel from the map.

In the book, “Thea Stilton and the Blue Scarab Hunt,” a map of the region showed Jordan completely covering Israeli territory.

Scholastic apologized, calling the map an “error” and promising to add Israel in the next printed edition.