Israeli Press
Israel restores school buses to Negev villages it calls illegal
Israeli PressGraphic: Times of Palestine
Original Reporting
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Israel's Education Ministry reversed a decision to cancel school transportation for Bedouin children in the Naqab's unrecognized villages, Haaretz reported, after public pressure followed the transport company's notice to residents on Tuesday that the routes would end.
The ministry said in its reversal that busing will continue even for pupils living in homes that have been demolished or are slated for demolition, according to Haaretz — a detail that ties the transport dispute directly to the same demolition drive documented elsewhere: Israel's own National Security Ministry recorded 5,742 structure demolitions across the Naqab in 2025.
What changed and why#
Haaretz's report did not name the transport company or the specific villages first notified of the cancellation, but described the reversal as a direct response to public pressure rather than a change in the ministry's underlying policy toward the 37 villages Israel classifies as unrecognized and therefore ineligible for standard infrastructure connections.
What the reversal does not change#
The unrecognized-village status itself remains unchanged: it is the same designation that leaves homes without permits and exposed to demolition orders regardless of how long a family has lived on the land. A restored bus route addresses one practical consequence of that status for one school year; it does not touch the recognition question Adalah and allied rights groups have pressed Israel to resolve through a revised regional master plan.
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