Israeli authorities banned Palestinian commuters from using Israeli-run public transport in the West Bank following requests by Israeli settlers who said sharing bus rides with Palestinians threaten their security.

Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon issued a directive prohibiting Palestinian workers from riding the same buses with Israelis during their daily commute to the country, according to a report published Sunday by Haaretz newspaper.

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At least 150,000 Palestinians, most of them day laborers, enter Israel via a single crossing point at Eyal, an area some 35 kilometers away from the capital, Tel Aviv, where they are checked for work permits.

Presently, the Palestinian commuters are allowed to return to their towns and villages in West Bank by using whatever route they choose.

With the new directive that will take effect in December, Palestinian workers will have to return to the Eyal checkpoint and from there board separate buses.

The new measure in effect "bans Palestinian workers from travelling on Israeli-run public transportation in the West Bank," according to the newspaper Haaretz.

The decision came after intense pressure from Israelis living in West Bank settlements who fear for their safety while sharing buses with Palestinians.

Haaretz reported that the decision contradicts the Israeli army's view that sees the segregation unnecessary amid mandatory pre-screening for Palestinian workers as well as stringent security measures at checkpoints.

An unnamed employee at the defense bureau told Harretz that the decision is not intended to prevent Palestinians from going to work inside Israeli territories. Rather, it is meant to step up security measures by supervising the entries and exits from the country, thereby preventing terror attacks against Israeli populations.

Under the new measure, Palestinian laborers are also prohibited from staying overnight in Israel to reduce the presence of illegal residents in Israel.

Palestinians have reportedly denounced the new measure as "racist." Last year, Israeli rights group B'Tselem criticized the Israeli government for creating separate bus lines intended for Palestinian use in the West Bank.  

TagsIsrael, Palestine, transportation ban, West Bank bus, Israel-Palestine, West Bank