Google has removed from its Google Play store two controversial games created against the backdrop of Operation Protective Edge. In one of the games, "Bomb Gaza", p layers take the role of the Israeli Air Force, “tapping a touchscreen to pour red-nosed bombs into a 2D multi-level landscape filled with cartoonish people wearing white robes and clutching children — meant to signify civilians — as well as others draped in black, clutching rifles, touting greenish headbands and grinning maniacally,” reported TIME . The goal is to hit the black-garbed terrorists while avoiding the white-clad civilians. According to TIME , a game called Rocket Pride, which is available on Google’s Play store, allowed players to provide “support for the besieged Gaza Strip” by firing rockets at targets in Israel. A Google spokesman told Arutz Sheva it had pulled that game as well on Tuesday evening. The Bomb Gaza game was released on July 29, but removed a week later from Google's Adroid Store. “It’s not clear why,” TIME says. “Google’s only officially saying what companies like it so often say when handed political hot potatoes: that it doesn’t comment on specific apps, but that it removes ones from its store that violate its policies.” Another game, dubbed Gaza Assault, was also removed, as was Code Red, which is about dropping bombs on Palestinians using Israeli drones. Its designers describe the game as “[bringing] you to the forefront of the middle-east conflict, in correlation to ongoing real world events.” Yet another game, Whack the Hamas, targets Hamas members as they pop out of tunnels. It, too, was eliminated. A game called Iron Dome is still available on Google’s Play store. It lets players intercept incoming rockets using Israel’s famous missile defense system. One of the developers behind “Bomb Gaza” told the Daily Beast that the “game was a joke made in 2 hours.” “It is based on avoiding killing civilians,” Roman Shapiro, the developer said in an email exchange. “As usual, Jews are demonized by everyone. Not surprised." In a statement, Google simply said that "We remove apps from Google Play that violate our policies ."
