THE US National Basketball Association (NBA) has bowed to Israeli pressure and removed Palestine from its listing of countries on its website.

The NBA issued a grovelling apology to Israel on Thursday for including “Palestine – occupied territory” in its list of countries for a poll for fans’ favourite “country of origin” for NBA players.

Israeli Sports Minister Miri Regev had sent a vitriolic letter to NBA commissioner Adam Silver, complaining that the country listing did not match the pronouncements of US President Donald Trump.