walking distance. Services that operate regularly only run every 90-120 minutes, amounting to a significant waiting time between services. Alternatively, other services that run at specific times of the day to enable school, university or work travel out of Umm al-Fahm rarely provide more than one or two departure times daily. There are no services available that provide regular connectivity in both directions between these Palestinian communities. Travel farther to Jerusalem demands multiple transfers, including in the wrong direction to Afula, before commuting to Tel Aviv and then connecting back to Jerusalem.364 Traveling to the West Bank poses even more of a challenge. “[…] I can only travel to the West Bank through public transportation – which is not organized or punctual and ends up taking at least three hours to get [to Ramallah] because I have to go to Barta’a or Jalameh, then to Jenin and then to Ramallah compared to the direct route, which would only take an hour and forty minutes”365 • Regular and targeted services to key Israeli-Jewish areas: At least ten specific bus services are provided to transport residents of Umm alFahm to some Israeli-Jewish areas, including a select few industrial zones. In contrast to the services between the city and other Palestinian communities, some of these services have multiple stops within Umm al-Fahm, and the timetables are generally clearly designed to account for work schedules, with multiple services provided out of Umm alFahm in the morning and back into it in the evening. Twelve additional services run along Route 65, with a stop at Umm al-Fahm connecting Palestinians to major Israeli-Jewish cities, such as Tel Aviv, Afula, Natsrat Illit, the Jordan Valley and Beersheba.366 • Plans to construct a train line through Wadi ‘Ara that included a station at Umm al-Fahm were diverted because of the undesired potential economic benefits to the area.367 The amended plan perpetuates the segregation of Palestinian communities, while developing the connection between the coastal Israeli-Jewish populations and the Marj Ibn Amir Valley, which was planned way back during partition discussions in the 1940s. 364 Jabbarin, supra 281. 365 West Bank Spouse of a Fahmawi Palestinian, interview conducted by BADIL, Umm al-Fahm Municipality, 7 November 2019. 366 See review of bus services, in supra 361. 367 Osnat Nir, “Wiped Off the Map: Railway Plan Skips Arab Towns, Leaves 180,000 Without Transport Solution," Haaretz, 8 February 2019, available at: https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premiumnew-train-lines-to-bypass-large-arab-area-as-ministry-changes-plans-1.6916538 [accessed 28 February 2020]. 89