Volunteered Geographic Information in Contested Lands: A Comparative Analysis of Israeli and Palestinian Contributions to Historical Site Documentation on OpenStreetMap in the West Bank

Volunteered Geographic Information in Contested Lands: A Comparative Analysis of Israeli and Palestinian Contributions to Historical Site Documentation on OpenStreetMap in the West Bank | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Volunteered Geographic Information in Contested Lands: A Comparative Analysis of Israeli and Palestinian Contributions to Historical Site Documentation on OpenStreetMap in the West Bank Rahaf Hafithaa, Mohammed Itair, Ihab Hijazi, Loai AbuRaida This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8079404/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract This study investigates disparities in the documentation of historical sites in the West Bank on OpenStreetMap (OSM) by Palestinian and Israeli contributors. Employing spatial and statistical analyses, we examine the relationship between contribution size, geopolitical divisions, and the representation of heritage sites. Our findings reveal a significant imbalance, with Israeli contributions overwhelmingly surpassing those of Palestinians in both quantity and spatial coverage. The study demonstrates how Volunteer Geographic Information (VGI) platforms, such as OSM, serve as contested spaces where mapping practices reinforce existing power asymmetries, reflecting broader territorial and narrative conflicts in the region. Volunteered Geographic Information OpenStreetMap Historical Sites West Bank Palestine Israeli Settlements Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-8079404","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":545477889,"identity":"1c8d44c8-05da-46d8-acf3-b1207a9c6ffa","order_by":0,"name":"Rahaf Hafithaa","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Rahaf","middleName":"","lastName":"Hafithaa","suffix":""},{"id":545477890,"identity":"1f78f6d1-3222-4b6c-a504-079f9293bc8b","order_by":1,"name":"Mohammed 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