2.2.2. Public Transport Infrastructure: Fragmentation and Control The public transport network servicing Palestinian communities throughout Mandatory Palestine is characterized by a total absence of continuity, which creates inaccessible and impractical public transport options. Central to this is the fracturing of public transportation into disparate territories – Gaza, West Bank, Jerusalem and 1948 Palestine – and Israel’s refusal to allow continuity of service between them. Instead, transport is constrained to discrete networks within these divided areas, and Palestinians are required to undertake often indirect and inconvenient routes, thereby limiting and discouraging natural interconnections between Palestinian communities. Services within these areas are impinged by Israeli control and restrictions, that hamper efforts by the Palestinian Authority (PA) or local operators to provide adequate services. Israeli transportation networks, however, stand in stark contrast, with an array of options providing efficient connections throughout Mandatory Palestine, including connections to and between Israeli-Jewish colonies in the West Bank. Decommissioning railway lines: Fragmenting Palestinian territory and communities The railways lines in the West Bank and Gaza, once the core of the transport network, are in ruins and out of service today. The sites of the remains of this infrastructure tell the story of transformation emerging from the Nakba and ongoing occupation. 128 An illustrative example is the station of Massoudieh 129 in Jenin, which was located at the central intersection point of tracks leading to the three cities of Nablus, Jenin and Tulkarm. It was situated at the crossing point of several valleys where the site attracted both railways and roads. With the zoning of land enacted by the Oslo Accords, all major road infrastructures were designated as Area C - a zone under full Israeli control - allowing Israel to regulate movement within the occupied territory. The roads around Massoudieh have also been converted into corridors of Area C. Today the site is abandoned, save for the occasional visitors in the area on foot or by car. 128 See Decolonizing Architecture Art Residency, “Massoudieh Station,” webpage, available at: http:// www.decolonizing.ps/site/return-to-the-city/ [accessed 28 February 2020]. 129 Ibid. 39