Syria is reportedly planning to block access to Facebook after the social networking website agreed to list occupied parts of the Golan Heights as part of Israel.
Facebook incensed the Syrian government after it succumbed to a campaign of pressure mounted by Jewish settlers in the Golan and a pro-Israel lobby group to change the designation of the contested region.
Israel seized the Golan Heights from Syria during the Six-Day War of 1967 and has continued to occupy two-thirds of the strategically important territory ever since.
Until last week, Facebook followed the lead of the United Nations, Britain, the United States and the European Union, which all regard the Golan Heights as occupied territory.
As a result, Facebook members in Israeli-controlled parts of the Golan found that they were automatically designated as residents of Syria when they submitted biographical details to their profiles.
That automatic designation angered Jewish settlers in the region who use the website and they set up a protest group entitled "Facebook, Golan residents live in Israel, not Syria," which attracted over 2,500 members.
The protest was spearheaded by Honest Reporting, a watchdog which monitors the media for what it considers to be biased reporting against Israel.
The campaign proved a success and since last week residents of the largely Jewish settlements and towns of the Golan are now automatically designated as residents of Israel.
According to al-Quds al-Arabi, an Arabic-language newspaper based in London, Syria has launched a campaign calling for a boycott of Facebook because of the decision.
Access to the website will also be restricted in Damascus as a result of the move.
Syria has blocked access to popular websites such as Youtube in the past.
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