Earlier today, the Israeli press reported that Palestinian and Israeli passengers on buses to the West Bank would be segregated as part of a "three month trial" starting today. The proposal had been in the works for a while, Israel's Attorney General (Yehuda Weinstein) questioned Defense Minister Ya'alon about it when it was first revealed back in October.
From Haaretz: Israel begins separating Palestinians, Israelis on West Bank buses
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.
If you're wondering why some Israelis believe segregation is necessary, here are some answers:
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."
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The Defense Ministry was concerned that the state would have difficulty convincing judges that the separation was based on security and not ethnic grounds, due to the army's stance that there is no security risk on the buses in Samaria and in light of the racist remarks that accompanied the idea of separate buses.
Though the plan to segregate buses was discussed and revealed back in October, implementation was shelved till after the election which returned Likud to power. Within hours of the implementation, the government was forced to reverse course and cancel the pilot in response to a global uproar.
There are some suggestions that Netanyahu did not know the plan was to go into effect today. It seems the implementation and then subsequent suspension came as a surprise to a number of people. As Haaretz reports: Israel suspends plan to segregate Israelis, Palestinians on West Bank buses following criticism
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon decided Wednesday to suspend a program to separate Israeli and Palestinian bus travel in the West Bank.
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Earlier on Wednesday, Zionist Union leader and opposition head Isaac Herzog said "separating Palestinians and Jews on public buses is a warrantless humiliation and a stain on… the country and its citizens." In a Facebook post, Herzog added that the move will fan the flames "of hatred toward Israel around the world."
Meretz leader Zehava Galon said that Ya'alon "gave in to pressure exerted by Jewish settlers, who complained over the large number of Palestinians on the buses." Ethnic separation on buses, she said, is "unacceptable in a democratic country."
"This is what apartheid looks like," said Galon. "Separate bus lines for Palestinians and Jews prove that democracy and occupation cannot coexist."
The NY Times also covered the events:
Israel Cancels Project Barring Palestinians From Some Buses
Mustafa Barghouti, a Palestinian leader in the West Bank, said that the plan for segregated buses was particularly “blunt,” but that other forms of segregation were still in place, pointing to the existence of roads in the West Bank that are exclusively for use by Israelis. “This revealed the fact that Israel unfortunately has transformed the situation into a system of apartheid,” he said.
Mordhay Yogev, a legislator from the Jewish Home party, was quoted in Haaretz at the time saying that the situation was “unreasonable” and that “the buses are filled with Arabs.”
“I wouldn’t want my daughter to ride them,” he said, adding that girls and women had complained of being sexually harassed by male Arab passengers.
The tussle is not over yet, as Haaretz reports, the defense minister is sticking to his guns:
Ya'alon vows to revive plan to segregate Israelis, Palestinians on West Bank buses. The Guardian notes that this is the shape of things to come given the ruling coalition's razor thin one-seat margin in the Knesset and the demands of the parties aligned with the settler movement:
Israel's bus segregation row shows high wire act facing Netanyahu
More links below the fold:
Jerusalem Post: Netanyahu shelves Ya’alon’s travel ban for Palestinians after Left screams apartheid
Times of Israel: Ya’alon defends West Bank bus plan, says there’s no segregation
Yedioth Ahronoth: Netanyahu suspends ban on Palestinians using Israeli buses in West Bank
Yesh Din welcomed the decision to suspend the move, but said that "the fact a host of political leaders, high-ranking juridsts and senior army officers imagined the despicable practice of ethnic segregation on public transportation is a cause worth promoting is disturbing and should make every Israeli ashamed."
The NGO vowed to "continue being vigilant and not let go of the matter until it is completely off the table."
Peace Now also welcomed the decision to suspend the move, but demanded to cancel the scheme altogether.
"The defense minister must announce the cancellation of the bus segregation plan rather than settle for a suspension. Even without the bus segregation, the occupation continues in the territories and discrimination between settlers and Palestinians is a daily reality," Peace Now said.
The settler leaders have a different view:
Head of the Shomron Regional Council, Gershon Mesika, deplored the "unbearable easiness with which vital security decisions are cancelled, over a few media headlines."
Washington Post:
Israel announces — then scraps — plan for separate Palestinian buses
BBC News: Israeli government suspends Palestinian bus 'segregation' trial
NBC News: Israel Scraps Controversial Palestinian Bus Segregation Within Hours
The Guardian: Israel scraps scheme to ban Palestinians from buses
Al-Jazeera: Netanyahu cancels West Bank Palestinian bus segregation
CNN: Israel PM suspends trial Palestinian bus segregation program
ABC News: Israeli Prime Minister Overrules Defense Minister, Cancels Proposed West Bank Bus Segregation
The Guardian: Israel's bus segregation row shows high wire act facing Netanyahu
The NY Times had an interesting quote from Rueven Rivlin, the Israeli president:
There was also criticism from some more conservative quarters, including Israel’s president, Reuven Rivlin, who welcomed the decision to halt a process that he said “could have led to an unthinkable separation between bus lines for Jews and Arabs.”
Such ideas “have no place being heard or said,” Mr. Rivlin said in a statement.
They “go against the very foundations of the state of Israel, and impact upon our very ability to establish here a Jewish and democratic state,” said Mr. Rivlin, whose voice carries significant moral weight even though his position is largely ceremonial. “Such statements cause great damage to the state of Israel, and to the settlement movement.”
Mr. Rivlin has long opposed the establishment of a Palestinian state in territories that Israel conquered in the 1967 war and has supported building and maintaining settlements, which most of the world considers to be a violation of international law, while advocating equal rights for all.
It's interesting because Rivlin is at pains to clarify that the segregation idea is wrongheaded because it puts the settlement project at risk. That in a nutshell, is an admission of how the settlements effectively control Israeli policy.
Netanyahu's current government has managed to alienate some senior Likud figures. From Haaretz: Ex-senior Likud official warns Israel, world on a collision course
Dan Meridor, who held senior portfolios in previous Likud-led governments, including justice and finance, also expressed deep concern that Israel’s ruling party seems to be abandoning its longstanding commitment to human rights and democracy.
“In the past, the Likud had always tried to strike a balance between nationalism and the pursuit of the Zionist dream, on the one hand, and liberalism, respect for democracy and the individual, on the other,” said Meridor in an interview with Haaretz.
“This balance, unfortunately, has been disturbed, and I see the Likud becoming much more nationalistic and less attentive to its liberal side. Today, in the party, when you use words like democracy, human rights and rule of law, they immediately depict you as a leftist.”
He cited the controversial “nation-state” bill, which gives the country’s Jewish character priority over its democratic nature, as an example of this trend, along with recent proposals designed to weaken the Supreme Court. “There is a danger here,” stated Meridor.