Israel to give Palestinians over a million vaccines, PA rejects offer

However, after the vaccines had already been transferred over to Palestinian possession its Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh announced in the late hours of Friday that he was cancelling the shipment of the vaccines due to the fact that the vaccines are expiring soon.

The decision to cancel the agreement also came after the PA government “found that the doses fall short of meeting the technical criteria,” PA Minister of Health Mai Alkaila said in a press conference. The PA did not know that the vaccines were about to expire, she said.The decision was taken after many Palestinians criticized the PA government over the deal with Israel. The Palestinians pointed out that the vaccines were about to expire and called on the PA government to cancel the agreement with Israel.Alkaila said that the PA government had notified Israel that the vaccines must confirm to all specifications and conditions of validity and safety. “After medical and technical teams received and inspected the first batch, it was found that the doses did not conform to the technical specifications as previously agreed upon, and that their expiry date was close,” she added.

On Thursday, the Palestinian Authority held issue with two conditions surrounding the transfer of the vaccines, one of which included that the agreement would not be signed under the “State of Palestine” and the second was that the vaccines would be prohibited from being transferred into the Gaza Strip.”Yesterday we informed the Israelis that we were giving up all vaccines because they had agreed not to supply some of them to Gaza,” said the Palestinian Health Minister. “Today [Friday] they came back to us and agreed.”As the morbidity in Israel plummeted as a result of the vaccination campaign in the past few months, many health experts have warned that the vulnerability of the Palestinian population to the virus represented a risk for Israel and that the country should consider inoculating them a priority.

Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz spoke with his Palestinian counterpart Dr. Mai al-Kaila on Friday, and said the agreement will lower the COVID-19 numbers in the Palestinian Authority without reducing Israel’s stores of vaccines.

“Coronavirus does not recognize borders or differentiate between nations,” Horowitz said. “This important move is in the interest of all sides. I hope and believe this move will promote cooperation between Israel and its Palestinian neighbors in other areas, as well.”

A-Kaila thanked Horowitz for the cooperation, the Israeli Health Ministry said.

“Coordination with Israel on the topic of coronavirus has been excellent, and I hope the ties between us will grow closer, certainly in the areas of health and human rights,” she said, according to the Israeli Health Ministry.

COGAT commander Maj.-Gen. Rassan Alian said that “over the last few weeks, we have been working very hard to bring about the signing of the vaccination agreement between the State of Israel and the Palestinian Authority, which entails a significant joint effort to eradicate COVID-19 in our region.

“This is a paramount health and economic interest, as we live in one epidemiological space,” Alian explained. “This agreement is another in a series of measures advanced and implemented…with the aim of maintaining the health of the area’s residents and restoring the routine of life.”

Earlier this year, activists, NGOs and media outlets accused Israel of withholding vaccines from Palestinians or violating international law by not vaccinating them.

However, the Palestinian Authority had not asked Israel for help with the vaccines, but Israel had actually offered and vaccinated 100,000 Palestinians with Israeli work permits as Israel’s vaccine rollout reached its peak. In addition, Israel vaccinated Palestinians in east Jerusalem, which are registered under Israeli HMOs.

In addition, according to the Olso Accords, stipulate that the PA is responsible for healthcare, including vaccinations, for Palestinians in Judea and Samaria and Gaza.

Physicians for Human Rights said that Friday’s announcement was “too little and far too late.”

“Instead of taking responsibility and providing vaccines without delay to the entire population and without unnecessary calculations, Israel is making deals with the lives and health of millions of people,” Ghada Majadli of Physicians for Human Rights stated. “Israel has a moral and legal responsibility, according to international war, to ensure the health of the residents of the territories under its control. The fact that Israel has only transferred a small number of vaccines is disgraceful and a shameful avoidance of responsibility. Israel must immediately provide vaccines to all residents of the West Bank and Gaza.”