Israel launches segregated bus service

Israel has launched two Palestinians-only bus lines in the occupied West Bank, a step an Israeli rights group described as racist and which the Transport Ministry called an improvement in service.

The left-wing Haaretz daily reported that the ministry opened the lines on Monday, to be used by Palestinian labourers travelling between the West Bank and Israel, after Jewish settlers complained that Palestinians on mixed buses were a security risk.

"Creating separate bus lines for Israeli Jews and Palestinians is a revolting plan," Jessica Montell, director of the B'Tselem rights group, said on Army Radio. "This is simply racism. Such a plan cannot be justified with claims of security needs or overcrowding."

The Transport Ministry said the two new lines would "improve public transport services for Palestinian workers entering Israel" and replace pirate buses charging them "exorbitant prices".

"The Ministry of Transport has not issued any instruction or prohibition that prevents Palestinian workers from travelling on public transport in Israel nor in Judea and Samaria," it said, referring to the West Bank.

"Furthermore, the Ministry of Transport is not authorised to prevent any passenger from using public transport services." 

Concerns

Rights groups, however, voiced concern that Israeli police at checkpoints in the West Bank would remove Palestinian passengers from regular bus lines and order them to use the new ones.

Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said all Palestinians returning to the West Bank would be searched for stolen property, describing this as a routine Israeli precaution.

He said he did not know whether and how this might affect Palestinian travel on regular buses.

Herzl Ben-Zvi, mayor of the Karnei Shomron settlement, said the new lines "answer the needs of all passengers; Palestinians and settlers" because they would relieve overcrowding on buses in the area.

Israel occupied the West Bank in the 1967 Middle East war and maintains a network of roadblocks in the territory, severely restricting movement of Palestinians in the area.

Palestinians seek the West Bank, along with the Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem, for a future state, a claim supported by most world powers, which also view the settlements as illegal.

From~http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2013/03/20133414315434321.html

This is just disgusting, how can anyone back Israel when it is a fascist state like this? First it was a wall separating Palestinian farmers from their crops, then it was the building of houses for Israelis in the west bank while evicting the Palestinians in that area, alongside the constant war between the two groups and now this. Where does it end? Who's saying if we don't stop them now, we won't see another situation just like South Africa's from 1948 to 1994 when apartheid (segregation) was in place? It's the 21st century, racism and segregation should be left in the past. The international community should at least warn Israel that what they are doing is just wrong and that if it continues, they will be sanctioned. And no i don't back either side, i just think racism is wrong.   

Bringing up a topic like this on a site with such a large American following and userbase will not end well. Be warned.

As for myself, I won't comment on this, I know the ensuing shitstorm will drown out the subject and assume its natural defensive position in two neat and high castles with tall walls and shut gates.

If anyone can defend this action, they are basically saying to me that segregation between black and white people in the USA (especially the southern states) in the 1950's and 1960's was just, which it was not. Anyway, bring it on!

It's only a comparble situation if you consider the Palestinian territories part of Israel.  Also you know... if they were actually being segregated. (they aren't.)

Even then... not really afterall people of Palestinians who actually LIVE in Israel and are Israeli citizens still have to use the regular buses.

Additionally, they haven't actually stopped anyone from using normal bus lines.  Instead just having a discounted one for palestinian workers.  If you read the article you posted.

A similar situation would be if the US had special discounted busses for Mexican day labourers who came from mexico to work in the US and then return to Mexico... though the mexican labourers aren't actually forced to use the discounted bus, you'd just be stupid not to.  Meanwhile for mexican US citizens it's buisness as usual.

I mean there is a lot of shit you can critisize israel for, but this is just such a reach I can only conclude you didn't even read the entirity of the article you posted.  On balance, as it stands now, this is a huge net positve for Palestinian workers.  Could Israel abuse it in the future?  Sure, anything can be abused in the future.  Right now your ciritisizing something that will greatly improve the lives of Palestinian workers because I can imagine bus fare is expensive as hell.

The only people I can think of that should actually be against this are MAYBE Stickball and Kantor who think race based advantages and even then this is more based on roughly "nationalism" then race.  So probably not.

Maybe some libretarians would be against it on Social engineering terms. 

Pretty disgusting of Israel to discriminate against Israelis like that.

Two peoples living in the same land and governed by fanatic religious men.

This conflict will never end, unless both sides choose more flexible people to conduct peace negociations.

I like israelites, i know abunch of them and are very nice.

But I hate Israel policies. I really hate them, and I can't believe all my israelite froends support those policies. And I hate, that I've been called an anti-se'itist just for expressing my opinions of a state policy.

I don't want to enter in details, it's a rocky subject.

The israeli leaders aren't religious. Zionism and the idea of a homeland for Jews is mainly a secular project.

Well... mostly.

If it was fully secular, we'd be complaining about how Irsael was treating the Somalians right now.  Or maybe not even that since I think they were just going to give all of Somalia to Israe.

This isn't racism....black and white bathrooms in America was racism.

Separate buses because you fear for your life is taking a precaution.