A Dutch pro-Palestinian group has expressed its opposition to Israel’s Egged bus company, after it won a public tender to operate bus services in Holland.

The action group ‘Working Together for Palestine’ opposes Egged running bus services in the Waterland region, north of Amsterdam, because they say the company supports Israel’s settlements policy, according to a report by Radio Netherlands Worldwide.

Open gallery view One of Egged's buses in Israel. Credit: Moti Milrod

“Egged makes money from trampling on the rights of Palestinians,” Radio Netherlands Worldwide cited one of the groups’ activists as saying.

Dutch daily Trouw also wrote that local activist groups see Egged winning the tender as indirect Dutch support for Israel’s settlements policy in the West Bank, Radio Netherlands Worldwide reported.

‘Working Together for Palestine’ would like to call for a boycott of Egged’s bus service in Westerland, but as it is the only company running bus services in the region, boycotting is not a viable option, Radio Netherlands Worldwide said.

Egged’s Dutch subsidiary, EBS, responded saying it is not involved in politics, Radio Netherlands Worldwide reported.

An official of the Dutch FNV trade union federation said some of their drivers fear the buses will become the target of terrorist attacks, Radio Netherlands Worldwide said.

