Israel revokes decision to ban Palestinians from traveling by bus

(Baonghean.vn) - On Wednesday, May 20, the Israeli government decided to revoke the ban on Palestinians in the West Bank using the same buses as Israelis to return home after a day of work.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu himself has issued an order suspending the decision to ban Palestinians from sharing buses with Israelis. Mr. Benjamin said he “cannot accept” the decision. It is known that the decision has come into effect and is part of a pilot project that will last for 3 months.

According to a Bank of Israel report, there are approximately 92,000 Palestinian workers in Israel. As a result, thousands of Palestinian workers have to pass through four checkpoints every day to get to their workplaces and to return to their homes in the West Bank. Not only that, when they return home, they have to take Palestinian buses, which do not have Israelis.

Palestinian workers wait for a bus to return home in the West Bank after a day of work. Photo: Reuters

Explaining the decision, Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon said the measures would help “better control Palestinians coming and going from Israel and also help reduce security threats.” According to the military, the move would reduce the risk of attacks when there are many Palestinians on the bus. However, separating Palestinians and Israelis has not been easy.

The decision was made at the request of Jewish settlers in the West Bank. Mordechai Yogev, a member of the Jewish Religious Nationalist Party who has campaigned for the separation of Palestinians and Israelis on buses for the past three years, said: “When we return home, there are so many Palestinians on the buses that there is no room for Israelis. Moreover, Israeli women are often victims of sexual assault.” Yogev also denied that the decision to ban Palestinians from traveling on buses with Israelis was racist, but simply because it was “unbearable.”

Chu Thanh

According to Le Monde May 20