Israel begins separating Palestinian bus travel in West Bank

[geek tragedy]

Israel on Tuesday launched a pilot program under directive from Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon to separate Israeli and Palestinian bus travel in the West Bank.

Palestinian workers will now have to return from Israel to the West Bank via the same checkpoint they left and will not be allowed to ride Israeli bus lines.

The new regulations, implemented by the Civil Administration, could lengthen some workers' commutes by as much as two hours, according to the human rights organizations that plan to appeal against the new rules to the High Court of Justice.

According to the plan, Palestinians who entered Israel from to work via the Rayhan, Hala, Eliyahu and Eyal checkpoints may now only return to their homes via the same checkpoints through which they left the West Bank. They will also no longer be allowed to ride common buses with Israelis to the West Bank. The pilot is expected to last three months, after which it will be reviewed.

http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/1.657260

There's a word for this.

[elleng]

1. fuckers!

[geek tragedy]

3. They learned very well from their mentors in South Africa

And this kind of stuff is what the US political establishment--including a lot of liberals who abandon their principles on the subject of Palestinian human rights-- wants to enable.

[geek tragedy]

2. more:

Until now, Palestinian workers who had entered Israel could have return to the territories any way they chose. In central Israel, many thousands of workers who crossed into Israel through the Eyal checkpoint often returned to their homes on transit company Afik's buses that travel on Israel's Route 5 to the West Bank settelment of Ariel. From now on, the workers will have to return to the Eyal checkpoint and from there travel on Palestinian buses to their residences. This means that even Palestinians who live close to Route 5 and work in Israel will have to travel north to the Eyal checkpoint under the new plan. This commute could take as much as two hours longer than before.

...

Haaretz also revealed the minutes of a subcommittee of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, in which Karnei Shomron council head Yigal Lahav said: "Arab travel on buses is a victory over the Jewish occupier" and that it gave them "the experience of traveling with Jewish women." Yoni Dryer, a resident of Ariel, said that his wife had been heavily pregnant while traveling on the bus at one point, and the Arab workers had not gotten up to offer her their seats.

Gotta maintain the racial purity of their bus lines.

[oberliner]

14. Good that it's not actually happening

And that the powers that be had the good sense to cancel this idea almost immediately.

[Autumn]

4. I think I have seen something similar to this before.

[Jefferson23]

5. So, is everyone excited about the review coming in 3 months? I can't imagine what it will say.

[geek tragedy]

6. that buses have a special "security zone" towards the rear where all Palestinians would be required

to sit

[Jefferson23]

7. Maybe, I was thinking the resulting recommendation might be something like the idea of land swaps

for a bus ride ticket.

[oberliner]

13. It's not happening

The Israeli PM (right-winger that he is) nixed this a few hours after it was announced.

[eloydude]

17. Got a link for that?

So the howlers here can see it for themselves and be silent?

[oberliner]

18. I posted it down thread

Here is the article from Al Jazeera:

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2015/05/netanyahu-cancels-west-bank-palestinian-bus-segregation-150520064455757.html

[eloydude]

21. Saw that.. thanks!

[azurnoir]

8. so simply taking the back seats is not enough?

ya I don't think there's much new about this

[oberliner]

12. Except it's not actually happening

So there is that.

[Little Tich]

9. It seems as if people like Rosa Parks are still needed.

Seriously, this is a very dumb decision. Most people, even if they support Israel have a problem with racially segregated buses. It's also very obvious that it's not a security issue.

[oberliner]

11. No, it doesn't

Because the Israeli PM cancelled the plan a few hours after it was announced.

[oberliner]

10. Netanyahu cancels West Bank Palestinian bus segregation

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered the suspension of a controversial measure banning Palestinians from riding the same buses as Jewish settlers when returning from Israel to the West Bank.

"The proposal is unacceptable to the prime minister. He spoke with the defence minister this morning and it was decided that the proposal will be frozen," an official in Netanyahu's office told AFP news agency.

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2015/05/netanyahu-cancels-west-bank-palestinian-bus-segregation-150520064455757.html

[Little Tich]

15. Good.

I hope this remains a non-issue. I do believe however, that some people on the internets will pretend that the measure is still in force.

[geek tragedy]

22. Suspended but not canceled.

How did such an egregious plan reach the implementation stage?

[oberliner]

24. No, it's cancelled

Note these headlines:

Netanyahu cancels West Bank Palestinian bus segregation - Al Jazeera English

Israel Cancels Project Barring Palestinians From Some Buses
New York Times‎

Israel PM Netanyahu overrules defence minister, cancels proposed West Bank bus segregation
CBC.ca‎

And the plan never reached the implementation stage.

[geek tragedy]

25. read past the headline

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered the suspension of a controversial measure banning Palestinians from riding the same buses as Jewish settlers when returning from Israel to the West Bank.

"The proposal is unacceptable to the prime minister. He spoke with the defence minister this morning and it was decided that the proposal will be frozen," an official in Netanyahu's office told AFP news agency.

This was announced last year and allowed to go forward. Why?

[oberliner]

26. Democracy Now: Israel Cancels Bus Segregation for West Bank Palestinians

Past the headline:

Israel has cancelled an order to bar West Bank Palestinians from riding on the same buses as Israelis. The segregation would have applied to the hundreds of Palestinians who cross into Israel each day for work and then return home. The Defense Ministry had introduced it as a three-month pilot project to address the demands of Israeli settlers. But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu abruptly cancelled it following an outcry.

http://www.democracynow.org/2015/5/20/headlines/israel_cancels_bus_segregation_for_west_bank_palestinians

[Israeli]

27. No its not ....says Ya'alon.....

http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/.premium-1.657384

Netanyahu was aware of the plan in its early stages but was not informed of the intention to implement it this week and was surprised to learn of it from the media. He spoke with Ya'alon and the two decided, apparently at the initiative of Netanyahu, to freeze the move.

They were of the opinion that the media coverage of the move, particularly in the foreign media, had created an unnecessary diplomatic stir for Israel and needed to be brought to an end.

Ya'alon has not given up, however. He intends instructing the IDF Central Command and the Office of the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories to come up with a new plan covering all 13 crossing points on the Green Line. Substantial infrastructural work will be necessary to prepare the additional crossing points.

In addition, the defense minister intends to improve the way in which he explains the plan, insisting that the only reason for it is security and not racial segregation between Israelis and Palestinians. He will relaunch the pilot once the necessary provisions have been made.

[Jefferson23]

28. Seemed pretty clear from B'Tselem too, thanks for the addition. n/t

[Jefferson23]

16. Settler demand to keep Arabs off buses no surprise in light of the two separate legal systems....

Settler demand to keep Arabs off buses no surprise in light of the two separate legal systems for settlers and Palestinians in the Occupied Territories

May 20, 2015

Now that the Israeli prime minister has instructed the Minister of Defense to freeze the pilot plan to keep Palestinians off the buses used by settlers, the most explicit and blatant manifestation of the segregation and discrimination regime will temporarily be put on hold, probably due to the negative fallout for Israel’s public image. However, the policy of segregation and discrimination against Palestinians has existed on the ground for a long time and it is the direct continuation of the regime of occupation and settlement. During the past 48 years the State of Israel has created two separate legal systems in the Occupied Territories, one for settlers the other for Palestinians. It also has imposed an official policy of segregation in downtown Hebron and, elsewhere, has set up a system of separate roads for use by Palestinians and settlers. It is therefore no surprise that the lords of the land are now demanding racial segregation on buses.

The flimsy excuses cited to rationalize this separation policy are entirely unconvincing. Particularly recalling the military’s past assertions that Palestinian workers who have undergone all the general and individualized security checks pose no security risk to settlers on the busses. Moreover, internal discourse among settlers unequivocally indicates that the demand for segregation comes from their interest in removing Arabs from the buses.

An official policy intended to segregate buses under the guise of security is not only morally repugnant. If implemented, the segregation policy will cause tangible harm to individual Palestinian workers with permits who are trying to earn a living and support their families. To get to work on time, these workers must arrive at the entry checkpoints in the wee hours of the night. They then spend hours on end waiting in line because of crowding at the checkpoint which is the result of the policy of authorities to keep down costs at the expense of the Palestinians workers, by not staffing enough booths at the checkpoints. After this interminable wait, the workers put in a long day of labor for low wages, often denied social benefits. The planned segregation will mean that the already long trip to work will be up to two hours longer for some of the workers.

http://www.btselem.org/press_releases/20150520_separation_in_buses

[eloydude]

19. In the midst of your howling.... you missed that Bibi nixed that idea..

He may be crazy, but he isn't that crazy.

Gotta protect his precious coalition - just one MK leaving the coalition collapses it.

[Jefferson23]

23. If you read the information, you would know B'Tselem speaks to that and ADDS their history on the

subject which is relevant to understanding the issue. Clarity and their intent is important
and the howling is projection on your part..unless you perceive human rights groups as
howlers.

[oberliner]

20. Thankfully Israel rejected the demands of these loony settlers

Hopefully that trend will continue.