Netanyahu drops plan to separate Palestinians, Israelis on same buses

Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, on Wednesday ordered the suspension of a plan to separate Palestinian and Israeli passengers on buses travelling through the West Bank, few hours after the plan was put into effect.

Netanyahu ordered that the plan should be shelved after Palestinians and human rights groups said the move was “racist’’ and amounted to apartheid. He ordered the Defence Minister, Moshe Yaalon, to freeze the suspension. However, the Israeli lawmakers had also slammed the move.

Yaalon said the three-month pilot plan, under which Palestinian travellers would not be allowed on buses being used by the Jewish settlers, was due to security reasons. He said the decision was taken as a result of the demand made by the Yesha Council of Jewish settlements in the West Bank that they fear for their lives whenever Palestinians board their buses.

Source; Vanguard