down Israeli aircraft. Liyla and the Shadows of War, a 2016 mobile game developed by Palestinian software engineer Rasheed Abueideh, follows the struggles of a Palestinian family's attempts to survive a series of armed attacks in their neighbourhood. The game aims to raise awareness about the treatment of Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip by Israeli security forces. Apple's initial decision to reject the listing of Liyla as a game on the Apple Store in May 2016 generated significant coverage from commentators as well as public outcry, which led to a reversal of their position a week after the original release date of Liyla. In June 2021, the PC version of Liyla became the centerpiece for a charity relief bundle that benefit Palestinian civilians, which was offered by indie game developers on the Itch.io website in response to the 2021 Israel–Palestine crisis. Reaction A Google spokesperson said that although the corporation does not comment on specific apps, it "remove[s] apps from Google Play that violate [their] policies." These policies ban apps that advocate "against groups of people based on their race or ethnic origin", or are threatening. Amnesty International UK said that the apps were "in highly questionable taste" and that players "should consider closing their war games app and instead read about real life right now in Gaza City, Rafah or indeed in southern Israel." Chris Doyle, the Director of the Council for Arab-British Understanding said of the games “You can have video games that deal with war, but when you base it in a reality of a conflict that’ going on right now it’s extremely problematic. It’s in very, very poor taste and it doesn’t create a culture of peace - and we need to, more than ever before.” He added "Google, Facebook or any other company that host such games, should be reviewing their policies and making absolutely all efforts to ensure that such games are not hosted on their platforms." Morton Klein, president of the Zionist Organization of America, said "It is both deplorable and dangerous to glorify Israelis killing Arabs or Arabs killing Israelis." See also Islamic Fun, a software package including a mini-game where the player fights Israel Muslim Massacre: The Game of Modern Religious Genocide, an online game where the player kills Muslims for the United States References Android (operating system) games Video game controversies Mass media about the Arab–Israeli conflict 2014 Israel–Gaza