Israeli plan for segregated buses cancelled on first day

Israel has shelved a plan for separate buses for Jewish settlers and Palestinians in the West Bank following criticism that compared the scheme to apartheid South Africa.

Prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu suspended the defence ministry's three-month pilot scheme only hours after it was introduced yesterday morning in response to the criticism, which also came from right-wing politicians.

The plan required Palestinian day labourers in Israel to return to their homes via the same crossing they exited the West Bank on different buses than those used by settlers. Many claimed the new restrictions would add hours on to their daily travel time.

The Israeli defence ministry cited security considerations for the segregation even though every Palestinian working in Israel requires a permit and passes through a tight security check each time he leaves the West Bank.

The pilot was introduced following pressure from settlers, who complained that the buses from Israel to the West Bank were packed with Palestinian labourers returning home. There were also complaints of sexual harassment from female settlers.

Tarnish reputation

Opposition leader

Yitzhak Herzog

warned that the measure would further tarnish Israel’s reputation in the international community.

“The separation of Palestinians and Israelis on public bus lines is an unnecessary humiliation,” he said. “It is also a stain on the face of the state of Israel and its citizens.”

Zahava Galon, head of the left-wing Meretz party, also attacked the plan: “This is what apartheid looks like. There is no other polite definition that could fall more pleasantly on one’s ears.”

Defence minister Moshe Ya’alon denied the plan was an attempt at segregation, saying it was implemented for security reasons to better monitor the large number of Palestinians who enter Israel without documentation.

“There is no separation between Arabs and Jews on public transportation in Judea and Samaria,” he said, using the biblical term for the West Bank. “There was no discussion about this, there was no decision about this, and there will not be any decision about this.”

Gershon Mesika, the head of the Samaria settlers’ council in the northern West Bank, said it was a mistake to cancel the scheme “over a few media headlines”.

The start of the scheme coincided with talks in Jerusalem and Ramallah involving European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini, who is trying to persuade Israeli and Palestinian leaders to resume peace talks after a year and a half hiatus.