MK Shuli Mualem-Refaeli
MK Shuli Mualem-RefaeliGershon Elinson

Tomorrow (Sunday), the Ministerial Committee for Legislation will discuss Jewish Home director Shuli Mualem-Refaeli's bill demanding an end to businesses refusing to provide service to residents of Judea and Samaria.

According to the proposal, service providers will be forbidden from discriminating against customers due to their place of residents. It applies to all businesses with at least 100 employees that state they serve all parts of the country.

The bill would not affect small businesses, but rather target chains and large companies. An owner who breaks the law could be sued for up to 50,000 shekels ($12,600 US), without the need to prove damages.

"This twisted reality in which hundreds of thousands of Israelis are not receiving equal service as the rest of the country's citizens, due to their place of residence, must end," said MK Mualem. "It is not right for a store in an electronics chain in Central Israel or Jerusalem to tell a customer living in Judea-Samaria that the shipping would be too much."

She continued: "It's not reasonable for a furniture factory that ships to Eilat to demand a higher price for shipping to communities in the Arava. Residents of Judea, Samaria, and the periphery are citizens with rights. We cannot discriminate against them or charge them a special rate as 'second-class citizens.'"