Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen is under pressure to abandon plans to work with Israel on vaccines, as political allies called for more doses to be shared with Palestinians.
Frederiksen and Austrian chancellor Sebastian Kurz will visit Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday to discuss a joint project on making vaccines for any future coronavirus changes.
Before leaving for Tel Aviv, the Danish prime minister said the options being discussed would range from co-financing new factories for production to buying extra doses to a successful Israeli vaccination program.
“I don’t control any ideas – not even build factories,” she said. “We are happy to buy vaccines from countries that cannot use them – either because they do not have time to distribute them at the same rate as us, or for other reasons.”
But the news of a possible connection with Israel has been on the rise for some seasons at home, with the Politiken newspaper publishing an editorial: “Apartheid vaccination policy Israel is ashamed. Mette should condemn Frederiksen – not to demand Israeli vaccines. “
According to the latest health ministry data, 52% of the population of Israel was given a vaccine injection, leaving it a global leader. But the Netanyahu government agreed just last Sunday to vaccinate tens of thousands of Palestinians licensed to work in Israel and the settlements after heavy criticism of the small number of jobs given to them owned by the West Bank and Gaza.
Human rights groups have argued that international law requires Israel to give Palestinians the same access to vaccines as they are citizens. The Palestinian Authority has said it received just 2,000 doses from Israel and 10,000 from Russia.
Søren Søndergaard MP, defense for foreign affairs to the left-wing Red-Green Alliance, which supports Frederiksen’s small social democratic government, said: “Denmark should not give Israel apartheid property and policies. [approval] urges delivery of vaccines to Danish public.
“We should not rely on Israel, a 54-year-old resident, to vaccinate us. The apartheid allegiance and global closeness of the pandemic will not go hand in hand.
“It would be a historic mistake for Denmark to co-operate with Israel as long as Israel does not fulfill its obligations under international law. Instead, we should ask Israel to give the Palestinians the vaccines they claim they are entitled to. “
Frederiksen relies on support from the Socialist Party, the Red-Green Alliance and the Social Liberal Party to deliver their legislative program. The Chancellor of Austria said this week that the release of EU vaccines, which have been plagued by supply problems, was “too slow”. According to the latest data, around 7% of the EU population has had an injection compared to 31% in the UK.