For Israeli friends, the road to vaccines runs through Jerusalem

Although it did not identify the countries, a list obtained by one of the country’s TV stations suggested that several of them have supported Israel’s bid for the capital city of Jerusalem.

The comments came at a time when Israel is being criticized internationally for not doing more to share the vast collection of vaccines with the Palestinians. They also showed how vaccination in a time of global scarcity had become an asset that could be used for diplomatic gain.

“As the resident power, Israel is responsible for the health of all those under its control,” he tweeted to the US Sen. Bernie Sanders. “It is a shame that Netanyahu used extra vaccines to reward his foreign friends while so many Palestinians in the lands are still waiting.”

Under the terms of Oslo Accords, however, the Palestinian Authority is responsible for the health care of its own population and has reiterated that it receives its own vaccines through the DA scheme.

While Israel does not make its own vaccine, Netanyahu has tracked down one of the world’s most successful vaccination campaigns by receiving millions of doses from drug makers Pfizer and Moderna. Speaking at a press conference, he said Israel has already vaccinated more than 5 million people with the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine and could end up protecting its 6.2 million adults within weeks.

He also said that Israel has an additional supply of hundreds of thousands of Moderna vaccines.

After confirming that Israel has “more than enough” vaccines for its own population, he personally said that he shared what he called a symbolic number of doses with some allies. Israel.

He said it was made “as a reward for things we have already received, through many contacts in several areas that I will not detail here,” Netanyahu said. “I think it totally buys good intentions.”

Israeli public broadcaster Kan said about 100,000 Moderna vaccines are being sent to about 15 allies.

They include Honduras, Guatemala, Hungary, Uganda and the Czech Republic – countries that have recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel or expressed interest in opening diplomatic offices there after Trump administration moved the U.S. Ambassador to the city in 2018.

Chad, who established diplomatic ties with Israel in 2019, featured Mauritania, which is set to renew relations, and several other African countries with close security ties to Israel, including Ethiopia and Kenya.

When asked about Netanyahu using their vaccines as a diplomatic tool, Moderna declined to comment.

Palestinians claim East Jerusalem, captured by Israel from Jordan in the Six Day War in 1967 and later annexed, as the future state capital. Competitive bids for the city were at the heart of the decades-long conflict, and most of the international community says what happened to Jerusalem needs to be resolved through negotiations.

Together, these vaccines cover just a small fraction of millions of Palestinians. The Palestinian Authority has said it plans to get more vaccines through the World Health Organization ‘s COVAX program and other treaties, but it is not clear when the drugs will arrive.

Palestine chief executive Wasel Abu Yusuf accused Netanyahu of playing politics with a humanitarian issue.

“He is using the vaccines that some countries need to get political support for his policies, such as moving embassies to Jerusalem,” he said. “The number of vaccines he is talking about is giving Palestinians in the West Bank very little. “

Inequality has drawn attention to the global disparity in vaccine uptake between rich and poor countries and has sparked international criticism.

Lawrence Gostin, professor of global health law at Georgetown University, said it is incomprehensible that Israel would want to take care of its own citizens first. But “at some point it becomes morally grotesque,” ​​he said.

He said that as well as having a moral responsibility on the Palestinians, it would be wise to help them.

“The reason it’s a good thing that it would bring huge benefits to Israel is its reputation in the region and around the world,” he said. “Sharing the vaccine will not be neglected. because so many useless people are dying from a preventable disease. “

UN officials and human rights groups have expressed concerns about inequality and said Israel is a proprietary power responsible for vaccinating Palestinians.

Israel says that, under interim peace agreements since the 1990s, there is no such obligation in covering for the failures of the Palestinian Authority. Israel has vaccinated their own Arab population, including Palestinians in Jerusalem.

But Israeli public health experts have called on the government to share the vaccines, given the widespread communication between Israelis and Palestinians. Tens of thousands of Palestinian workers work inside Israel or its settlements on the West Bank.

The Biden administration has stopped criticizing Israel, but has expressed support for sharing vaccines with the Palestinians. “We believe it is important for Palestinians to have greater access to the COVID vaccine in the coming weeks,” the State Department noted Ned Price. “It is also important for Israel, the health and security of Israel.

Netanyahu’s decision to share the vaccines with friends has caught fire at home. Its main rival and managing partner, Defense Minister Benny Gantz, said Netanyahu made the decision unilaterally without any consideration or consideration.

“The fact that Netanyahu is trading in the vaccines of Israeli citizens paid from their tax money without any accountability shows that he believes he is running a kingdom and not a state,” he said. Gantz this week.