The United Arab Emirates is sending 20,000 doses of Russian coronavirus vaccine to the Gaza Strip, announced by a rival to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Thursday in a decision that could affect for upcoming elections.
The news by Mohammed Dahlan came a day after the Abbas government delivered 2,000 vaccines to Gaza and appeared to be aimed in part at embarrassing the Palestinian president.
Dahlan described the passengers as a “generous donation” from the UAE “at a critical time where the pandemic is targeting all of our sweethearts. “A supporter for Dahlan said the Sputnik V vaccines will be delivered to Gaza via Egypt on Sunday.
Dahlan, a former member of the Fatah Abbas party, has been a refugee in Abu Dhabi since he fell out with the Palestinian president in 2011. Dahlan was sentenced in absentia to three years in prison on because of accusation.
May’s parliamentary elections are to pit Fatah against the Hamas militant group that rules Gaza. Abbas has banned Dahlan from running in the election, which would be the first Palestinian vote in 15 years. But Dahlan’s friends, who run as a Fatah splinter group known as the Democratic Reform Bloc, plan to compete in the race and could emerge as monarchs.
Dahlan was once a bitter enemy of Hamas when he was Palestinian security chief in Gaza. But after the militant group took control of Gaza in 2007 and forced them to flee the land, the sides subsequently found common ground of animation towards Abbas.
Hamas has allowed Dahlan supporters to run humanitarian and aid projects in Gaza, which has been under severe Israeli-Egyptian blockade, and limited political activity. Expected vaccine delivery could further boost Dahlan ‘s standing in the region as Abbas continues to struggle to get vaccines for his people.
The Gaza Ministry of Health has reported more than 53,000 cases and at least 538 deaths since the outbreak of the pandemic, and
authorities have been reluctant to impose extensive locks as the area is already in poverty.
With Emirati funding, the Dahlan group has delivered tons of medical support, including an oxygen generator, to support Gaza ‘s weak healthcare system that treats COVID-19 patients.
Israel has faced international criticism for virtually shutting down Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza from their hugely successful vaccination campaign. It is also a good example of global inequality in the distribution of vaccines, most of which have been caught by rich countries.
Rights groups say it is their duty as a property power to share their vaccines with the Palestinians. Israel captured eastern Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza in the 1967 war, areas that the Palestinians want for the future of the state.
Israel denies such an obligation and claims that the priority is citizens themselves, as well as Palestinians in east Jerusalem who are linked to Israel. He says the Palestinian Authority is responsible for health care in the areas it administers under interim peace agreements.