Editor’s Note: Below is the latest installment in our COVID-19 newsletter. You can sign up here – mondoweiss.net/newsletters/.
The Latest:
- 164,395 Palestinians tested positive for COVID-19; 146,601 recoveries; 1,707 deaths
- 101,296 in the West Bank, 44,778 in Gaza; and 18,321 in East Jerusalem
- 477,357 confirmed COVID-19 cases in Israel; 408,753 recoveries; 3,596 deaths
Over the last week the spread of COVID-19 has continued to slow in the West Bank, but in Gaza, where testing and hospital beds are limited, cases are still soaring. On New Year’s Eve, Gaza had it’s most fatal day, with 15 deaths reported. In early December, Gaza accounted for around a third of all active COVID-19 cases. Today, that figure has ballooned to 50% of all active cases in the occupied Palestinian territory.
Despite the growth, there were 5% less tests administered to Palestinians in the last week. We’ve tracked on-going shortages of laboratory COVID-19 tests in this newsletter for months. In recent weeks, Gaza has twice run out of tests. The WHO’s latest situation report reveals in less than two weeks, Gaza will again be out of tests.
Israel could vaccinate entire population before Palestinian administer a single dose
One story that is gaining traction is Israel’s robust vaccination program. Initially projecting around 65,000 vaccinations a day, Israel ramped up and supplied a staggering 150,000 per day. James North did a news round up noting most legacy newspapers praised the efficiency, but buried the lede. While Israel will have vaccinated two million by the end of January, Palestinians are not part of the distribution plan.
Here’s North:
“You have to read all the way down to Paragraph 26 before the Times tells you the ugly truth: Israel is not inoculating Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and Gaza, even though the paper notes, as an afterthought, that ‘Legal experts and human rights activists said Israel was obliged to provide the Palestinians with vaccines.’”
On Thursday evening, Israel updated its vaccination timeline and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu notified reporters:
“We will be the first country in the world to emerge from the coronavirus.”
In less than three months, the entire Israeli population of 9 million will have immunity, he said:
“The agreement that I have made with Pfizer will enable us to vaccinate all citizens of Israel over the age of 16 by the end of March and perhaps even earlier, meaning that we will vaccinate the entire relevant population and everyone who wants to will be able to be vaccinated.”
Meanwhile next door: Palestinian officials haven’t released a clear outline of their vaccination scheme. The first inoculations in the region likely won’t occur until after the spring. That timetable is our estimation based on the arrival time frame of vaccines to the GAVI COVAX AMX Facility, the landing site for vaccines purchased by the GAVI Alliance, a charitable foundation founded by seed funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in 1999 that vaccinates children and at risk individuals in low-income countries. Vaccines will be procured in “early to mid 2021,” according to the WHO.
The big picture: This is poised to create a stark inequity, where Israelis will more or less resume normal life as the summer nears, while Palestinians will still be under some form of lockdown, with impacted hospitals, medical checkpoints, rising poverty and a contracting economy.
1 of 2
From Canada:
IJV Stands by MPs in Denouncing Israel’s Discriminatory Vaccine Program – Independent Jewish Voices Canada (ijvcanada.org)
“IJV Stands by MPs in Denouncing Israel’s Discriminatory Vaccine Program” Independent Jewish Voices, Canada, Jan7/21
“On January 3rd, NDP MP for Timmins-James Bay, Charlie Angus, shared an article from The Guardian focusing on Israel’s COVID-19 vaccine program, and its failure to provide the vaccine to Palestinians living under Israeli occupation. Angus tweeted the article with the comment ‘This is appalling. #apartheidstate’. Leah Gazan, NDP MP for Winnipeg Centre, followed suit by sharing the same article that day, further calling out Israel’s discriminatory vaccine rollout.
“Pro-Israel lobby groups B’nai Brith Canada and the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA) were quick to attack both Angus and Gazan. Both organizations cited misleading information in their attacks, suggesting that Israel does not hold responsibility for the health of Palestinians under Israeli occupation in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
“B’nai Brith Canada went even further, calling Angus’ tweet antisemitic, and accusing him of spreading conspiracy theories. Gila Martow, Member of Ontario’s parliament for Thornhill, threw herself into the fight too, tweeting that Angus’ comment justifies why Ontario adopted the dangerously misleading IHRA antisemitism definition. And perhaps most disturbing of all, a top Israeli diplomat to Canada, Ohad Nakash Kaynar, also threw himself into the pile-on, accusing Angus of antisemitism based on the IHRA definition. (cont’d)
.
2 of 2
“On Wednesday, IJV co-signed a letter to NDP leader Jagmeet Singh, refuting claims by pro-Israel lobby groups that absolve Israel of responsibility and urging the NDP in turn to denounce Israel’s discriminatory vaccine program. IJV also sent an email to Angus and Gazan to congratulate them on their tweets and to contest the false accusations of antisemitism being slung at Angus.
“As IJV and a growing chorus of civil society organizations and academics both in Canada and around the world have been warning, the promotion of the IHRA antisemitism definition has very little to do with fighting genuine antisemitism and much to do with shielding Israel from criticism and protest. The fact that pro-Israel lobby groups, Israeli diplomats and certain politicians in Canada are using the IHRA definition to bully politicians like Angus who dare object to Israel’s violations of international law therefore comes as no surprise. If these actors put as much effort into demanding an equitable vaccine rollout in Israel-Palestine as they have into making false accusations of antisemitism, it would ultimately be for the public health benefit of both peoples in the region.
“Since the beginning of the pandemic, Palestinians have been warning the world about the disastrous potential of a deadly virus inside the longest-running military occupation in modern history. Weeam Hammoudeh, a professor and researcher in public health at Birzeit University, reminded us that the Israeli occupation has been degrading the Palestinian health system for decades, which has made it much more difficult for Palestinians to manage the COVID-19 pandemic. Just like at the beginning of the pandemic, the world must listen to the voices of Palestinians under occupation, and act to prevent the worst outcomes for the virus in Palestine. IJV will continue to stand with Palestinians, and to amplify their voices to ensure rapid and fair vaccine access for all.”
Israel’s legal obligation to vaccinate Palestinians without discrimination, according to its own Supreme Court: legal analysis: https://www.justsecurity.org/74091/israel-is-legally-obligated-to-ensure-the-population-in-the-west-bank-and-gaza-strip-are-vaccinated/
VIDEO:
“Medical Apartheid”: Israeli Vaccine Drive Excludes Millions of Palestinians in Occupied Territories – YouTube
“‘Medical Apartheid’: Israeli Vaccine Drive Excludes Millions of Palestinians in Occupied Territories” Democracy Now, January 5, 2021
“Israel has administered COVID-19 vaccines faster than any country in the world, with more than 14% of Israelis receiving vaccines so far. Despite the fast rollout, human rights groups are expressing alarm over Israel’s decision not to vaccinate Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and Gaza, where about 1,500 people have died during the pandemic. Israel has defended its actions citing the Oslo Peace Accords, which put Palestinian authorities in charge of healthcare in the West Bank and Gaza. Palestinian officials are facing a number of hurdles in launching their own vaccine campaign, including a shortage of money, lack of access to vaccines and lack of infrastructure to distribute a vaccine.
“‘Israel is actually violating international law because it is denying its responsibility as an occupying power,’ says Dr. Mustafa Barghouti, a physician, member of the Palestinian Parliament and head of the Palestinian Medical Relief Society. ‘Israelis are getting the vaccines, and Palestinians are getting nothing.'”
Here in Israel we have gone into a third lockdown, in the wake of an alarming spike in new cases.
On the other hand , the vaccination campaign has been quite impressive, perhaps our healthcare system’s “finest hour”. At present Israel leads the world in vaccinations per population, by a huge margin . See here:
https://ourworldindata.org/covid-vaccinations
As I’ve pointed out in the past, Israel regards a fast-spreading epidemic among the Palestinians as a nightmare scenario. The virus does not recognize borders and does not make national or ethnic or religious distinctions. See here:
https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/palestinians-we-didnt-ask-israel-for-covid-19-vaccine-652703