JERUSALEM — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday canceled a plan that would have banned Palestinian laborers from riding on the same buses with Jewish settlers in the West Bank, hours after it was announced — an embarrassing about-face that reflected the tensions enveloping Israel’s new government.
The inauspicious start for Netanyahu’s hard-line government illustrated the difficulties that loom as it tries to advance a pro-settler agenda in the face of rising global outrage and domestic criticism.
As the bus plan was unveiled, Israeli critics across the political spectrum derided it as racist, with one opposition politician comparing it to “apartheid.” Israeli President Reuven Rivlin, a member of Netanyahu’s Likud Party, called the plan “unthinkable” and said there had been “great damage” to Israel.
Netanyahu’s coalition, which was sworn into office last week, is dominated by settler sympathizers. The busing plan, launched late Tuesday on a trial basis, had sought to separate settlers and Palestinians from traveling together through the West Bank.
The plan’s mastermind, Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon, said it was connected solely to security. The settlers had complained of safety concerns and alleged harassment of female riders by Arab passengers.
