For the first time in Israel’s history, public transportation services will be
offered to non-Jewish settlements, the Transportation Ministry announced on
Sunday.
“History in the Arab Israeli sector,” read a press release issued
by the ministry.
“Within two months, new public transportation bus lines
will begin operating in non-Jewish cities in the North and the South of Israel,
for the first time since the establishment of the state.”
The new lines
are part of Transportation Minister Yisrael Katz’s plan to introduce public
transportation into all Arab, Druse and Beduin cities and villages in the
country.
“The operation of public transportation in the non- Jewish
sector will lead to increases in residents’ employment and particularly in
women’s participation, leading to an increase in quality of life,” said
Katz.
The first phase will include the introduction of bus lines to the
Galilee, with routes to and from Peki’in and Beit Jann, in Wadi Ara for the
benefit of Umm el-Fahm residents, and a route for the residents of Fureidis,
near Zichron Ya’acov.
In the Negev, the Beduin cities of Lakia, Tel
Sheva, Chura and Kuseifa will all connect to Beersheba.
In the upcoming
months, the Druse villages of Daliat al- Carmel and Usfiya will also
receive new
bus routes.
Attorney Sawsan Zaher from Adalah – the Legal Center for Arab
Minority Rights in Israel responded, saying, “There exists a big gap in
infrastructure between Jewish and Arab cities. Lack of public
transportation in
the Arab sector harms the mobility of the Arab population, is an
obstacle to
employment and causes a larger amount of traffic accidents. Therefore we
congratulate any actual steps taken to bridge the gap.”
|