BICOM

Israel’s Attorney-General Yehuda Weinstein has asked Defence Minister Moshe Ya’alon to clarify the grounds on which he plans to further regulate transport and movement for Palestinian workers crossing the pre-1967 borders.

On Sunday, Ya’alon announced that from the start of December, Palestinian workers who leave the West Bank to work in the Tel Aviv and Greater Sharon region will be required to re-enter the West Bank via the Eyal checkpoint. They will also not be allowed to return on regular Israeli busses travelling to the major West Bank settlement of Ariel.

Critics of the decision have labelled it discriminatory and effectively imposing segregation on West Bank busses. However, Defence Ministry officials said that the restrictions were solely security measures. An unnamed official told Haaretz that the decision would not prevent Palestinians from working and travelling, but instead, “This is purely a security-related matter, and its purpose is to supervise the entries and exits into Israeli territory, thereby reducing the chances of terror attacks inside Israeli territory.”

Nonetheless, on Weinstein’s instructions, Deputy Attorney-General for Legislative Affairs Dina Zilber wrote yesterday to Defence Ministry Legal Advisor Ahaz Ben Ari. She asked for a list of considerations, including security and legal positions that Ya’alon took into account, plus an analysis of the alternatives, to be provided by 9 November. Zilber stated, “These clarifications are needed in order to form a legal position by the Attorney-General regarding these decisions.”

Justice Minister Tzipi Livni also asked Weinstein to examine the legality of Ya’alon’s decision. She said that were it based solely on security considerations, it would be a legitimate. However, she warned that, “The segregation, which is not anchored in security needs, is liable to escalate to illegal discrimination.”