By As a potential third wave of corona-virus could be on its way through the Middle East, vaccines are needed now more than ever, especially in areas where healthcare is not easily accessible.
For those living in Palestine, the number of vaccines is limited.
Last month, Israel made a deal with the Palestinian Authority to deliver them over one million vaccines. In return, Palestine was to give them a similar number of Pfizer vaccines, which they are to receive later in the year.
When proposing the deal Israeli authorities said they no longer required an ageing stock of vaccines, so would be more useful to the Palestinians in increasing the amount of vaccinated citizens.
However, once the vaccines arrived, the expiry date was marked as June, instead of July/August as the Israeli government had promised. Health Minister in Palestine, Mai Alkaila, said on arrival of the vaccines that “That’s not enough time to use them, so we rejected them.”
As of June, over 55% of Israel’s population have received both doses of the Pfizer vaccine, whereas some 30% of those in the occupied West Bank and Gaza have received at least one dose of the vaccine.
But Israel’s health minister was quick to deny this, and pleaded that the vaccines sent to Palestine were identical to those being given to Israeli citizens at the time, and that Palestinian authorities had agreed to receive vaccines with an expiration in June.
The Palestinian Authority found that the vaccines did not conform to healthcare standards and the agreement made with Israel, and consequently chose to cancel the agreement.
A spokesperson for Palestine said that the country would rather wait to receive vaccines directly from Pfizer.
As of June, over 55% of Israel’s population have received both doses of the Pfizer vaccine, whereas some 30% of those in the occupied West Bank and Gaza have received at least one dose of the vaccine.
Several UN experts have criticized Israel’s failure to extend its vaccination programme to Palestine, but the Israelis have said that the Palestinians are responsible for administering vaccines in the territories.