On Saturday, 19 December, Israel’s PM Benjamin Netanyahu received the first vaccine shot in Israel. Israel’s “Give a Shoulder” campaign has secured four million doses of the Pfizer vaccine. Israel will issue “green passports” to the vaccinated, to allow them greater freedom of movement. Netanyahu boasted he had managed to call Albert Bourla, Pfizer’s CEO, at 0200 am to clinch the vaccine deal for Israel. (Albert Bourla is a Greek Jew).
Since 1967, Israel has occupied the Palestinian land
of East Jerusalem, the West Bank and the Gaza strip. Who is going to vaccinate this
population? Israeli health minister Yuli Edelstein rejected it was Israel’s
responsibility- moral or otherwise. He admitted it is in Israel’s self-interest
to vaccinate the neighbour who sends thousands of workers into Israel every day
but said nothing will be done for non-Israelis until all 9 million citizens of
Israel are first inoculated. “We can’t deny an Israeli citizen a vaccination
because we want to help someone else.” he said.
The Give a Shoulder campaign includes Jewish
settlers inside the West Bank, but not its 2.5 million Palestinians.
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Israel and the Palestinian Authority have struggled to
contain the outbreaks. Tens of thousands of Palestinian labourers employed in
Israel have transmitted the virus there and back. Israel has reported more than
370,000 cases, and 3,000 deaths. The Palestinian Authority has reported more
than 120,000 cases with 1,100 deaths.
More than 25,000 Palestinian children born during the
pandemic have not had their birth registered by Israel.
The Gaza strip, variously described as a concentration
camp, a crime against humanity, a collective punishment, is in grim condition.
Its two million residents include those in the refugee camps. Almost 86,000
Palestinians, living on average 12 per apartment, are packed within a quarter-square-mile
of density, ready-made for a coronavirus explosion.
Gaza gets about 8 hours of electricity every day. It
suffers daily rolling blackouts and unsafe drinking water. Power cuts severely
affect hospitals and infrastructure. Its 60 ICU beds, and an emergency 38-bed
field hospital are full. Supply chains are broken. WHO usually sends
humanitarian help from Dubai via Jordan. Supplies of vital equipment, including
respirators, are hampered.
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Palestinian leaders say they can’t afford the Pfizer vaccine
($20 a dose) or Moderna ($30 a dose) even if they were to become available. Palestinians
have only a single refrigeration unit, in the oasis town of Jericho, capable of
storing the Pfizer vaccine.
Russia reportedly plans to offer 4 million doses of Sputnik-V
in future. Palestinians have requested UAE to share with them the Chinese
vaccines. Whatever arrangements are made, Israel will be the deciding
authority. The Israeli regulators must review and approve the vaccine before it
can enter the Palestinian territory. Unapproved vaccines can be stopped at
checkpoints.
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The Israeli citizens, including those in the occupied
West Bank, will get the recognized, approved vaccines. As a humanitarian
measure, Israel may allow Russian or Chinese vaccines to be delivered to the
Palestinian territories. The apartheid character of the Israeli regime is
further highlighted by the vaccine double standards.
The coronavirus knows no geographical or racial boundaries.
Israel’s economy needs thousands of Palestinian labourers shuttling to work in Israel
every day. It is naïve on Israel’s part to think the selective vaccine policy
will work.
Ravi
Unbelievable. Enjoy your break. Love to you and Mena and your Mum and Dad and, of course, Devyani x
ReplyDeleteInequality is equal in its application. It is not a nation or a people that deprive but power and purse. The availability and administration of the Vaccine is no different. I guess the disenfranchised are the strong, for they will carry on, shot or not. It is Christmas night and I remember "Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and unto God the things that are God's". The meek shall Inherit the earth.
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