Israel's Defense Ministry announced the launch of a 'pilot project' which will ban Palestinians from sharing the same buses as Israelis, reports AFP.
"Under a three-month pilot project, Palestinians who work in Israel will, starting Wednesday, need to return home by the same crossings without taking buses used by [Israeli] residents" of the occupied West Bank, the official told AFP.
Hundreds of Palestinians travel from the occupied West Bank to Israel for work every day.
A step in the wrong direction
Many critics have likened the ban to apartheid.
According to the Jerusalem Post, Meretz Chairman Zahava Gal-On slammed the decision, saying it is "unacceptable in a democratic state."
"This is how apartheid looks," the Meretz leader told the Jerusalem Post, "there is no better or nicer way to put it. Separate buses for Jews and Palestinians prove that democracy and occupation cannot coexist."
