West Bank mayor calls to kick Arab-Israelis, Palestinians out of buses

Beitar Illit Mayor Meir Rubenstein on Monday controversially ordered to deny entry into all buses in the West Bank settlement for Arab passengers, including those carrying Israeli ID badges. "At night, they throw stones at us," the mayor lamented. The municipality later sent out a statement explaining that the mayor only meant for the bus ban to apply to Palestinian residents of the West Bank, rather than blue ID-carrying Israelis. — ידידיה אפשטיין (@yedidya_epstien) March 12, 2023Later in his interview with Kol Hai, the Beitar Illit mayor boasted that he "personally accompanied" the bus checks as three Palestinians were taken off. Rubenstein, who has been serving as mayor of Beitar Illit since 2007, was arrested in 2021 on suspicion of connection to the disappearance of Nissim Shitrit in 1986 and the murder of Avraham Edri in 1990.