Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit has warned Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that he cannot share the country’s extra vaccines with friendly friends in Africa, Europe and Latin America, and that can make an important decision by the Prime Minister on his own.
In an official letter, Mandelblit argues that Netanyahu should have consulted the cabinet for such a plan. The Ministry of Justice released the letter, which was sent to National Security Adviser Meir Ben-Shabbat on Monday.
Netanyahu’s news last week of his decision to split some of the Israeli vaccine barrier had caused uproar and was frozen again, due to legal issues in Israel, but not before the sent thousands of doses of vaccines to Honduras and also argued for the Czech Republic.
Netanyahu has not received the countries it hoped to receive Israeli vaccines from, but the Israeli TV station said it was bringing in a number of countries that were supportive of Israel’s claims to the capital city of Jerusalem.
Israel has vaccinated more than half of its population against coronavirus in the world’s most successful vaccination campaign since late December. Netanyahu is touting the country’s vaccination success as a personal achievement as part of his campaign ahead of the upcoming March 23 elections.
The Prime Minister has secured contracts with drug manufacturers Pfizer and Moderna to ensure an adequate supply for 9.3 million people in Israel.
But his controversial plan has raised questions at home about Netanyahu’s decisions as well as his choice to help countries in Africa and Latin America at a time of global scarcity, and when the nearby Palestinian territories hand struggling to get their own vaccine stores.
Critics say Netanyahu’s plan reflects how the prime minister will treat the vaccine as an asset that can be used for diplomatic gain.
On Sunday, Israel announced plans to vaccinate tens of thousands of Palestinians working inside Israel and its settlements on the West Bank. Earlier, Israel had shared 2,000 vaccines with the Palestinian Authority to protect front-line medical workers in the West Bank.
In his letter, Mandelblit recommends that, for a “just and complete method of government,” the relevant authorities must take any decisions regarding the transfer of Israeli vaccines to foreign countries.
Despite the importance of the diplomatic impact of such a decision, Mandelblit said that it was “appropriate that the subject be brought up for discussion in government, cabinet or in another forum that -involve all relevant ministers in the case. “