New "security" measures rolled out today. They will result in Palestinians who work in Israel spending an extra two hours commuting per day. NGOs slam the measures as "racist" and "shameful".

Jerusalem (AsiaNews) – As of  today, Palestinians in the occupied territories who work in Israel will not be able to return home on the same bus as Israelis, but will have to take specific buses. In addition, they will now have to return from Israel to the West Bank via the same checkpoint they left.

The new regulation were passed by Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon, and aim to ensure the safety of Israeli settlers returning to the colonies in the occupied territories in the evening.

The new rules and the obligation to return by the same checkpoint may lengthen the commute home for many Palestinian workers by more than two hours.

For now, the project will be implemented for three months and then subjected to verification. Some human rights groups have decided to appeal against the new rules before the High Court.

The Ministry of Defence is concerned that the judges will evaluate new directives not from the point of view of safety, but that of the division of ethnic groups, seeing it as racist.

According to Michael Sfard, an adviser to the NGO Yesh Din, "This  is a shameful and racist measure that causes Israel to deteriorate to a low moral point”.

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