AG probes Ya'alon's Palestinian bus ban
New directive would prohibit Palestinians of using same buses as Israeli settlers in West Bank, require them to only cross at Eyal checkpoint.
Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein was questioning an edict from Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon, 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 Ya'alon to explain his directive, which was first reported on Sunday.
Weinstein asked for a clarification - and an explanation of the considerations behind it - by November 9. According to Haaretz, the new measure would be implemented in December.
The directive was welcomed by a group representing some Israelis living in the West Bank who had petitioned the minister, saying it was out of concerns for their safety.
Ya'alon's spokesman Ofer Harel said the measure meant to ensure security.
"There is no prohibition to travel on buses with Israelis," Harel said. "The only thing is that the workers will have to return through the same crossing they came through, in order for there to be oversight and to reduce the chances of attacks."
"But there is no prohibition to travel with Israelis and we are not prohibiting Palestinians from working in Israel," Harel said.
But the Israeli human rights group B'Tselem says the ban is a discriminatory measure against the Palestinians, who will effectively be banned from using public buses.
"Minister Ya'alon is not content with merely moving Palestinians to the back of the bus, but means to keep them off buses altogether," B'Tselem 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.
Every day, thousands of Palestinians enter Israel for work from the West Bank.
Oren Hazan, from the West Bank settlement of Ariel, welcomed the decision, which he said came after months of petitioning by some Jewish settlers from the area. Hazan said the campaign was due to security concerns.
He said there was "rampant" sexual harassment of Israeli women by Palestinian workers on the buses and rejected allegations of discrimination.
"If you go to the US border without a visa you would not be allowed to enter," he said.
Ynetnews contributed to this report.
