Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein was questioning an edict from Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon, which would effectively bar thousands of Palestinian laborers travelling home to the West Bank from taking public buses with Israeli settlers, the Justice Ministry said on Tuesday. The decision would also require the Palestinians to return to the West Bank from their work in central Israel only through the Eyal crossing, near Qalqilyah, and far from any main settlement blocs. The Eyal crossing is only the only checkpoint through which the Palestinians can enter Israel after undergoing security checks and swiping a biometric ID card. Settlers have been pushing to ban Palestinian workers from public transportation used by Israelis in the West Bank for several years. Weinstein called on Defense Minister Yaalon to explain his directive, which was first reported on Sunday. Yaalons spokesman said its aimed at strengthening oversight of the laborers and preventing militant attacks. But the Israeli human rights group BTselem says the ban is a discriminatory measure against the Palestinians, who will effectively be banned from using public buses. Minister Yaalon is not content with merely moving Palestinians to the back of the bus, but means to keep them off buses altogether, BTselem said on its website. It is time to stop hiding behind technical arrangements such as the demand that Palestinians return to the West Bank through the same checkpoint they entered Israel, and admit this military procedure is thinly veiled pandering to the demand for racial segregation on buses, the group went on to say
Posted on: Tue, 28 Oct 2014 13:05:14 +0000
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