The giant HarperCollins publishing firm has wiped Israel off the maps in its English-language atlases it sells in the Middle East — because showing its existence would be “unacceptable.”

The maps clearly show Syria, although it is questionable if that country really exists anymore, and Jordan reaching to the Mediterranean Sea, where Israel apparently has disappeared.

HarperCollins explained that  “local preferences” of the Gulf State countries took precedence over including Israel on the map, something their Arab customers found “unacceptable.”

The original textbooks, showing that Israel indeed exists, were discovered by customs officials in an unnamed Gulf country. They allowed the books in the country only after the maps were corrected by hand.

Saudi Arabia suggested in 2002 that the Arab League would “normalize” relations with Israel if it simply would take measures to prepare for the demographic elimination of a Jewish State of Israel by accepting a few million foreign Arabs after surrendering all of the land from which seven Arab countries tried to annihilate the country in 1967.

Of course, doing so would make relieve the Arab countries of having to recognize because the country would be unrecognizable, except under a new name, such as the Palestinian Authority.

The Arab countries never recognized Israel even in 1948, when they tried to destroy Israel before it was day old. Egypt and Jordan since have signed peace treaties, but no other Arab state has dared to follow suit.

It is known that Arab countries uses millions of products made in Israel, from generic medicine made by Teva Pharmaceuticals to computer chips made by Intel’s operations in the country, and even ZIM containers.

Perhaps every single product from Israel should be stamped with an Israeli map and the word “Israel” and we will see if the customs officials will deny their entry.

Britain has followed the lead of the United States in rejecting the language of the Jordanian resolution presented to the U.N. Security Council that calls on Israel to sign on the dotted line with the Palestinian Authority within a year and get out of half of Jerusalem and all of Judea and Samaria within three years.

British U.N. Ambassador Mark Lyall Grant told reporters Tuesday there are ”difficulties” with the text, but he did not say if Britain would veto the resolution if it musters the needed two-thirds majority to pass.

In the event that the resolution passes, Britain could take the heat off by joining it in a veto, if Washington does so.

So far, the U.S. State Dept. is being cagey, saying it will oppose the resolution without going one step further and vowing to veto it

President Barack Obama would prefer that the resolution not pass, getting him off the hook by not having to exercise a veto.

The Palestinian Authority will have a better chance at winning the two-thirds majority after January 1 when more pro-Arab countries take a rotating slot on the Council, but the British decision could sway others or at least influence them to abstain.

Grant said Tuesday, “There’s some difficulties with the text, particularly language on time scales, new language on refugees. So I think we would have some difficulties.”

Mahmoud Abbas is ignoring hints of American sanctions and a possible defeat in the U.N. Security Council which is set to consider a resolution from Jordan on Monday, ordering Israel to sign a peace treaty with the Palestinian Authority in one year.

The resolution calls on Israel to surrender within three years all of the land in Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria that was restored to Israel in the Six-Day war in 1967, and it demands a  “just” solution for millions of Arabs classified by the United Nations as “refugees,” a generation-to generation status that does not apply to any other people in the world.

Palestinian Authority chairman Abbas informed Kerry on Sunday of the decision that effectively is a slap in the face, if not a shot in the leg, to the Obama administration which has staked its reputation on negotiations between the PA and Israel while backing almost all of Abbas’ demands from Israel.

It is not certain the resolution will pass in the United Nations, which probably will vote on it later this week. If it does pass, President Barack Obama will have to decide whether to veto it or not. No matter what he decides, if he is forced to do so, it will have a dramatic effect on the Israeli elections.

That is exactly why Kerry has begged Abbas to postpone going to the United Nations at least until after the elections in mid-March, but Abbas, obviously is listening to someone else.

He sees to be hell-bent on self-destruction. He has a better chance of winning the needed two-thirds majority in the Security Council after January 1, when more pro-Arab countries take their turn as rotating members.

In its report on Abbas’ conversation with Kerry,  the Chinese news agency Xinhua reported, “A well-informed official closed to Abbas spoke on condition of anonymity that Kerry exerted heavy pressure on Abbas over the phone to postpone the bid until after March elections in Israel.

“The official said that Kerry hinted there will be economic sanctions imposed on the Palestinians and that the US would veto the draft resolution in case it gains the nine Security Council votes.”

Reaction among Israeli hawks was swift and sharp. Likud minister Yuval Steinitz said that if the Security Council passes the resolution, “We will need to seriously weigh the dissolution of the Palestinian Authority.”

That would be absolutely stupid because Abbas is doing a good job all by himself to make the Palestinian Authority history.

The PA has won worldwide support vocally, but it is totally dependent on a nearly bankrupt European Union for help. The Arab countries have pledged billions and have paid pennies, and now Abbas risks sanctions from the United States.

One of his biggest political backers is Russia, whose economy is showing signs of a recession.

What or who is pushing Abbas over the cliff?

Perhaps he is afraid of a coup if he does not do something to satisfy the hard-core camp that can’t live without murdering Jews to prove their “resistance.”

Perhaps he wants to convince Hamas that he really is serious about getting rid of Israel and spitting on the United States.

Perhaps he is senile.

Perhaps he simply wants to prove that he is no different from other Arab leaders who would rather fail in an attempt to destroy Israel rather than accept it as a fact life.

An IDF helicopter evacuated a six-month-old baby to Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem Saturday morning after the child suffered an apparent heart attack while on the way to Jordan for medical care.

Israeli border officials saw the baby collapse and called paramedics, who in turn sent an urgent call for a military helicopter.

Magen David medics arrived at the scene and, along with IDF doctors, resuscitated the child, but the medical staff decided he needed to be flown to a hospital immediately.

Transportation was coordinated with the IDF’s COGAT (Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories) unit, and the baby now is under care at Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital.

We would like to presume that the family is appreciative of Israel’s efforts.

ISIS terrorists say they have shot down a warplane over Raqqa Syria and have taken the pilot hostage.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Wednesday that it had confirmed reports of a plane being shot down.

The pilot is reported to be a Jordanian citizen. Terrorists posted photos of the alleged hostage being pulled half-naked from a lake, but his identity has not been confirmed.

Jordan has taken part in airstrikes on ISIS as part of a U.S.-led coalition fighting the radical Islamic movement. The group’s stronghold in Raqqa is one of the coalition’s main targets.

ISIS is known for its brutal treatment of hostages, and has previously sold captive women as sex slaves and beheaded Western journalists and aid workers.

A draft resolution presented by Jordan on behalf of the Palestinian Authority on Wednesday at a session of the United Nations Security Council is now being considered by all 15 members of the world body – and the State of Israel.

The resolution currently calls for the total withdrawal of Israeli military forces from all territories conquered in the 1967 Six Day War by 2017. It also calls for the return of Israel and the Palestinian Authority to final status talks for a so-called “two-state solution.”

If approved in its present form, at the very least the agreement would leave half a million Jews completely without protection in the face of deadly, daily attacks by PA Arab terrorists.

Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu also pointed out Wednesday the proposal would also leave the Palestinian Authority population vulnerable as well.

Speaking a a Hanukkah candle-lighting ceremony with employees at the prime minister’s office, Netanyahu said Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, or “Abu Mazen” – the terrorist name by which Abbas is known among other Arabs – “does not understand that they will result in a Hamas takeover in Judea and Samaria, just as previously occurred in Gaza,” Netanyahu said.

“We will not allow this to happen. We will never agree to unilateral diktat. We will always safeguard our security. This is our lesson both from the days of the Maccabees and in our day,” he said.

In the PA capital of Ramallah, meanwhile, Abbas told officials at the Muqata headquarters, “We submitted a draft… aiming to have a deadline to end the Israeli occupation for the lands of the State of Palestine. We discussed with our brothers and friends during all the steps of arranging that draft… [which] assures the two-state solution that should be on the 1967 borders and Jerusalem as a capital for two states with east Jerusalem as a capital for the State of Palestine,” he said.

“We welcome an international conference for negotiations but the talks should not last more than a year, with the end of the Israeli occupation in the State of Palestine before the end of 2017,” he said.

Abbas added the resolution also calls for “an agreement for the Palestinian refugees according to the Arab peace initiative and UN Resolution 194.” None of that was reported anywhere in U.S. media, and it is not clear whether or not, in fact, it is even true. Abbas also claimed the draft resolution calls for a halt to all “settlement activities” and for security preparations allowing for the presence of an international party.

Nine votes are needed to pass the resolution, and any of the five permanent members of the Council can veto it. Britain, Germany and France are also drafting their own versions of a counter proposal.

Jordan has ordered the addition of 75 new Arab guards to be deployed at the Al Aqsa mosque on the Temple Mount, the Bethlehem-based Ma’an News Agency reported.

Omar al-Kiswani, director of the mosque site, told the news agency that the orders came from King Abdullah. Ten of the new guards are women, and six firefighters, five electricians and an engineer also have been employed.

King Abdullah’s order also follows the recent production of a Knesset bill to outlaw the “Mourabitoun” Muslim guards who often have participated in riots against Jews. The “Mourabitoun” are funded by Islamists and their job as “guards” is to keep the Temple Mount free of Jews.

Several dozen guards, or rioters, currently are stationed 24 hours day at the mosque site, and the addition of 75 is  huge number, possibly double the current staff.

The beefing up of the number of guards comes weeks after almost daily riots and attempted attacks on Jews visiting the Temple Mount, an act that is enshrined in the Jordanian-Israeli peace treaty.

If the addition of 75 guards is to replace the “Mourabitoun,” then the Temple Mount might be a lot more peaceful place.

If not, then Israeli police will have their hands full the next time Muslims riot on the Temple Mount.

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu sat down with King Abdullah last month in an effort to  end the violent by fanatic Muslims who go berserk when they see Jews on the Temple Mount.