Palestinian health workers and medical professionals in Gaza are still struggling to get their hands on the first doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, after Israeli authorities reportedly blocked the entry of 2,000 doses into the besieged territory, according to Palestinian officials.
The Palestinian Authority (PA) said on Monday that Israel was refusing to allow the entry of some 2,000 doses of the Russian Sputnik V vaccine that were acquired by the PA and were destined for Gaza from the West Bank.
The shipment was reportedly stopped by Israeli security forces at a checkpoint outside Ramallah in the West Bank.
Earlier this month the PA began vaccinating frontline health workers with a few thousand doses of the Moderna vaccine sent by Israel, and 10,000 doses of the Sputnik V vaccine — a portion of which were slated to be sent to health authorities in Gaza.
“[T]he occupation authorities prevented their entry,” Palestinian health minister Mai al-Kaila said in a statement. “These doses were intended for medical staff working in intensive care rooms designated for Covid-19 patients, and for staff working in emergency departments.”
Al-Kaila described the move as “arbitrary” in a statement, adding that Israel bore “the full responsibility” for blocking the entry of the doses — one of many shipments of the vaccine that the PA intends to send to Gaza, pending Israeli approval.
Hazem Qassem, the spokesperson for the Hamas movement that governs the Gaza Strip, described the move as “a real crime and a violation of all international laws and humanitarian standards.”
Israeli authorities from COGAT, the agency responsible for implementing the Israeli government’s policies in the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt), told AFP that the PA had only requested the transfer of 1,000 vaccines to Gaza, and that the request was “waiting for a political decision.”
“Israeli sources had told AFP in recent days that the transfer was not a simple administrative measure under the purview of COGAT, but rather a political decision possibly linked to talks between Hamas and Israel,” AFP reported.
The Guardian quoted an Israeli security source as saying that the allegations that Israel was refusing the request was “not true,” but that it was “still being reviewed.”
Al Jazeera reported that Israeli lawmakers in the Knesset were still debating on whether or not to allow vaccines into Gaza, with some leaders arguing that the vaccines would end up in the hands of senior Hamas officials rather than essential health workers.
Al Jazeera added Israeli officials had ruled out sending any of its vaccine supplies to Gaza, but were “weighing requests from other parties to allow the PA to deliver its own vaccines to the territory.”
Israel’s refusal so far to green light the entry of the just 1,000 – 2,000 vaccine doses into Gaza, which has a population of over 2 million Palestinians, does not bode well for future shipments of the vital vaccine into the territory.
The situation has highlighted the devastating effects that Israel’s 13-year air, land, and sea blockade can have on Gaza and the Palestinians living there — every shipment in and out of Gaza is controlled and managed by Israeli authorities, who often impose arbitrary restrictions under the pretext of “security concerns.”
Palestinian health officials have reported 53,600 cases of the coronavirus in Gaza, including 537 deaths. The pandemic has exacerbated the already disastrous state of Gaza’s healthcare infrastructure, which has struggled to function after over a decade of crippling siege and three Israeli offensives.
Meanwhile, Palestinian officials in the West Bank continue to face new challenges, with Prime Minister Mohammed Shtayyeh announcing there was a “delay in the arrival of the vaccine,” without specifying the cause of the delay — the latest of many.
As a result, the PA is once again pushing back its rollout of the vaccine, which according to health officials was supposed to start this month.
The PA is expected to receive 2 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine through a number of avenues, including the WHO’s COVAX program.
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“Israel has vaccinated more of its own population than any other country, but has denied any responsibility to give the vaccine to the 5 million stateless Palestinians. The Israeli denial contravenes the Geneva Conventions and the Rome Statute governing the responsibility of Occupying Powers. Israel militarily occupied the West Bank and Gaza in 1967. Since war-time occupations were expected to be short by international law, there really isn’t anything in it about 53-year occupations, and the situation looks more and more like a permanent Apartheid.
“That Israeli authorities can, at will, block the distribution of vaccines in Gaza gives the lie to their allegation that they are no longer the Occupying power there. Obviously, they are, since they make the crucial decisions about the health and well-being of its population.
“Also on Monday, to add insult to injury, Israeli tanks went into Gaza (as they often do) and destroyed crops. Israel often sabotages Palestinian farmers for trying to farm land deemed too close to the Israeli border. So writes Ibrahim Muhammad of the Lebanese al-Ghadd news site.
Video:
Who should provide vaccines to the West Bank and Gaza? – BBC News – YouTube
“Who should provide vaccines to the West Bank and Gaza? – BBC News”
How about posting the justifiable reason (Israel may condition offering vaccine to Palestinians on release of prisoners) for Israel blocking the sending of Covid-19 vaccines i.e. the fact the Knesset is insisting that before offering any vaccine to Palestinians in Gaza that Hamas should release two captive Israelis, Hisham Al-Sayed and Avera Mengistu. Israel has not received any information regarding their fate, and the Red Cross has not been allowed to visit them. Furthermore Israel is asking for the return of the remains of Hadar Goldin and Oron Shaul, the two soldiers that are believed to have died during the 2014 bombardment.
If Hamas cares about its citizenry it should accede to this quid pro quo.
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Israel stops Palestinians of Gaza from getting 2K doses of Russian Coronavirus Vaccine (juancole.com)
Informed Comment, & BBC News, Feb. 16/21, by Juan Cole.
“According to AFP Arabic, Palestinian Minister of Health Dr. Mai Al-Kilah announced Monday that Israeli authorities halted a shipment of the Russian Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine sent to the Palestinian Gaza Strip by the Palestine Authority that is based in Ramallah in the Palestinian West Bank.
“Israel has subjected the civilian population of the Gaza Strip to an illegal blockade since 2007. Israel is recognized by the UN and the International Criminal Court as the Occupying power in Gaza, and the Geneva Conventions of 1949 do not permit an Occupier to harm the civilian population under its authority or to impose collective punishment on them. Although Israel withdrew its illegal squatters and its troops from inside Gaza in 2005, it continues to control the territory’s airspace, sea coast and land border.
“Dr. Al-Kilah branded the interference of the Netanyahu government ‘arbitrary.’ Some 2,000 doses were sent to Gaza for medical personnel working in intensive care units and emergency rooms in the Gaza Strip’s few hospitals.
“She slammed the Israeli block on the vaccine doses as contrary to all recognized uses, to basic morality, and to international law. She has contacted international bodies about pressuring the Israelis to allow the vaccine in.
“Israeli authorities acknowledged having received a request to admit the vaccine doses, but said it was under review and had not been approved.
“The Palestine Authority in the West Bank had received 10,000 doses of the Russian vaccine and was attempting to share them with Gaza at a time when coronavirus cases are on the rise.
“Palestine says it has signed contracts with four vaccine suppliers and expects the first shipments to arrive in two months.
“Israel has sent over 2,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine, out of a promised 5,000, to inoculate West Bank Palestinian medical personnel.” (cont’d)