The government of Israel is going to launch special buses that will transport only Palestinian passengers. The buses will run between the West Bank and Israel, the Guardian reports.
Formally, anyone will be able to use the new buses, but the Ministry of Transport encourages Palestinians to travel by Afikim buses instead using the same road that the Israelis used. The advertising of new routes will be launched only in Arabic.
According to Israeli officials, the essence of the innovation is to improve services for the Palestinians. Buses will run from the town of Qalqilya to Tel Aviv. To be able to enter the territory of Israel, Palestinians will have to receive work permits from the Israeli army.
Earlier, Palestinians used mini-buses and taxis, but due to the increasing number of Arabs working in Israel, many of them began to use the same buses with the Israelis.
According to law, no one has the right to prevent any passenger from using public transport. However, according to activists protecting civil rights, many Palestinians were not allowed to travel in the same buses with Israelis.