Barghouti slams remarks about West Bank road segregation

Palestinian politician and activist Mustafa Barghouti has condemned remarks by the former head of Israel’s Shin Bet internal security agency, who has called for roads used by Israelis and Palestinians in the occupied West Bank to be segregated.

The Secretary General of the Palestinian National Initiative said that Avi Dichter’s comments reflect the extent of racism in Israel. He pointed out that there are already roads that stretch for dozens of kilometres which the Palestinians are prevented from using, and which illustrate the apartheid nature and racial discrimination of Israel. “These statements are aimed at transforming the West Bank roads to routes used by settlers and Israelis only,” he claimed.

Barghouti stressed the need to condemn such racist statements. Israel, he insisted, will only be deterred from its racism when popular resistance increases its pace and the state is hit by sanctions similar to those which brought down the apartheid regime in South Africa.