Britain's independent Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), acting on a complaint whose source it did not disclose in a ruling on its website, said on Wednesday the ad was misleading because it implied that East Jerusalem was part of Israel.

Israel annexed East Jerusalem after capturing the area and the West Bank in a 1967 war. It considers all of Jerusalem as its capital, a claim that is not recognized internationally.

Palestinians want East Jerusalem as the capital of a state they hope to create in the occupied West Bank and in the Gaza Strip.

The advertisement, which the Israel Government Tourist Office in Britain placed in British newspapers, included a photo of Judaism's Western Wall with Islam's Dome of the Rock in the background as part of suggested "itineraries in Israel.” Calling the Western Wall "the heart and soul of the Jewish people and the State of Israel,” Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat said in a statement the ASA has made a "shameful accusation showing a complete ignorance of history.” Israeli authorities, he said, would continue to advertise the "important historical and spiritual sites throughout Jerusalem — north, south, east and west.” In its ruling, the ASA said the ad breached a "truthfulness" clause in its advertising code and "must not appear again in its current form.”