Israel’s Palestinian-Only Buses Prompt Apartheid Comparisons

srael will open new “Palestinian bus routes” in the West Bank tomorrow after bowing to pressure from settlers who argue that sharing transportation is a security risk.

Officially, the new lines, operated by the Afikim company, are designed to ease pressure on the transport network that carries people from the West Bank into central Israel, which many Palestinians with Israeli work permits use each day. However, the Transport Ministry in Jerusalem has been accused of promoting segregationist policies after advertisements for the new routes were produced only in Arabic and distributed only in Palestinian villages in the West Bank.

The ministry insists that all bus lines are open to anyone, but the launch has followed pressure from the late Ron Nachman, former Mayor of the settlement of Ariel, who argued that Palestinians should be stopped from boarding buses going to the settlements. The new buses will not enter Jewish settlements and instead will terminate at the Eyal checkpoint. It is understood that the Judea and Samaria (West Bank) police force will deploy extra officers at Eyal.

One driver told the Ynet news service: “Obviously, everyone will start screaming ‘apartheid’ and ‘racism’ now. This really doesn’t feel right, and maybe [the ministry] should find a different solution, but the situation right now is impossible.”

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http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/israels-palestinianonly-buses-prompt-apartheid-comparisons-8518401.html