Israel attorney general probes Palestinian bus ban

In this Nov. 3, 2009 file photo, Palestinian workers stand under a shelter to keep dry from the rain as they wait for transportation after crossing from the West Bank town of Qalqilya to work in Israel, at the Israeli army's checkpoint near Kibbutz Eyal in central Israel. Israel's attorney general is questioning an edict from the country's defense minister that would effectively bar thousands of Palestinian laborers traveling home to the West Bank from taking public buses with Israeli settlers. The decision would also require the Palestinians to travel only through specific military checkpoints. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty, File) In this Nov. 3, 2009 file photo, Palestinian workers stand under a shelter to keep dry from the rain as they wait for transportation after crossing from the West Bank town of Qalqilya to work in Israel, at the Israeli army's checkpoint near Kibbutz Eyal in central Israel. Israel's attorney general is questioning an edict from the country's defense minister that would effectively bar thousands of Palestinian laborers traveling home to the West Bank from taking public buses with Israeli settlers. The decision would also require the Palestinians to travel only through specific military checkpoints. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty, File)

By Associated Press October 28, 2014 2 min read

JERUSALEM (AP) – Israel’s attorney general said Tuesday he would ask the country’s defense minister to explain his proposed order banning thousands of Palestinian workers from the Israeli public buses they ride back to their homes in the West Bank.

The proposed edict by Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon, who has authority over security issues, comes after a request by Jewish settlers who ride the buses. It also comes amid heightened tensions between Israelis and Palestinians after this summer’s Gaza War and other violence.

Every day, thousands of Palestinians enter Israel for work from the West Bank, territory Israel captured from Jordan in the 1967 war and which Palestinians want as part of their future state.

Yaalon’s edict, first reported Sunday by Israeli media, is slated to take effect in December. Jewish settlers alleged that the Palestinian workers constitute a security threat and frequently engage in sexual harassment of female Jewish riders.

Yaalon’s decision also would require the Palestinian workers to travel only through specific military checkpoints when returning to their homes.