Mondoweiss
Israel sends COVID-19 vaccines to Syria, Honduras, the Czech Republic, and
Guatemala but denies responsibility to vaccinate its Palestinian subjects
While Israel sends its vaccines abroad, and coordinates the purchase of
vaccines to Syria, the millions of Palestinians living under Israeli
occupation are still being left out of the state's inoculation plans.
BY YUMNA PATEL FEBRUARY 23, 2021
BENJAMIN NETANYAHU IN ISRAELI COLONY OF MEVO'OT YERIHO IN THE OCCUPIED
JORDAN VALLEY. FEBRUARY 2020. FROM HIS TWITTER FEED.
The news broke this week that the Israeli government had secretly agreed to
the transfer of a shipment of COVID-19 vaccines to Bashar al-Assad's regime
in Syria in exchange for a prisoner swap between Israeli and Syrian
authorities.
Last week, an Israeli woman in her 20s was released from Syrian detention,
where she had been held since early February after crossing into Syrian
territory. The woman, whose identity remained unknown, was exchanged for two
Syrian shepherds who had crossed into the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights,
and were being held in Israeli custody.
The New York Times revealed that as part of the deal, which was mediated by
Russia, Israel agreed to pay Russia for an undisclosed amount of Sputnik V
vaccines to be sent to the regime of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad, who
has been accused of orchestrating heinous war crimes during the Syrian civil
war, including bombing hospitals and schools, and the forced disappearance
and torture of thousands of Syrians.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declined to comment on the matter,
but said that, "Israel has always done and will always do everything in its
power to bring our citizens back."
The deal with the Syrian regime precedes Israel's latest efforts at what
some are calling "vaccine diplomacy" - where wealthy countries like Israel,
who have already vaccinated more than half of their population, provide
vaccine supplies to countries that have been unable to secure sufficient
vaccine supplies in exchange for their diplomatic support.
Israeli media reported on Tuesday that the government was offering vaccine
shipments to countries in exchange for their diplomatic support, or as a
gift of sorts to countries who had already taken diplomatic measures
favorable to Israel, such as vowing to move or establish their embassies to
Jerusalem.
Among the countries to be receiving Israeli shipments of the COVID-19
vaccine are Honduras, the Czech Republic, and Guatemala. Guatemala moved its
Israel embassy to Jerusalem in 2018; Honduras has vowed to do the same, and
the Czech Republic has said it plans to open a diplomatic office in
Jerusalem.
The Times of Israel quoted sources "familiar with the development" as saying
that "providing the vaccines is part of the process of bringing the missions
to the capital."
Israeli media also reported that Netanyahu was "considering donating
vaccines to a country with which it does not have diplomatic relations in
exchange for normalization."
Netanyahu's plans to leverage vaccines to promote Israeli diplomacy around
the Middle East and the world are likely to continue, as Israel nears its
goal of inoculating its entire population and vaccine surpluses in the
country continue to grow.
But while Israel sends its vaccines abroad, and coordinates the purchase of
vaccines to brutal regimes like that of Bashar al-Assad, the millions of
Palestinians living under Israeli occupation are still being left out of the
state's inoculation plans.
Among the shipments of vaccines to Honduras, Guatemala, and the Czech
Republic, were also reported to be an undisclosed amount of vaccines that
were sent to the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah.
A statement from the Israeli Prime Minister's office said that the country's
vaccine stocks allowed for the transfer of a "symbolic number of
immunizations" to Palestinian medical staff in the occupied West Bank.
The statement made no mention of shipments to the Gaza Strip, where
thousands of front line medical workers are in dire need of the vaccine.
Israeli authorities have publicly stated their intent to not let any Israeli
vaccines into Gaza, for alleged fear that the vaccines would end up in the
hands of Hamas authorities, rather than medical professionals.
Israeli officials have yet to make any statements on whether they are
concerned that the Sputnik V vaccines that Israel purchased for the Syrian
government would end up in the hands of Bashar al-Assad's authorities,
rather than Syrian civilians and healthcare workers.
Just last week, Israel delayed a shipment from the PA of 2,000 Sputnik V
vaccines into Gaza, where more than 2 million Palestinians are living under
one of the worst humanitarian crises of the 21st century - a crisis spawned
by Israel's now 14-year air, land, and sea blockade of the territory.
Israel has so far supplied only a few thousand vaccines to the nearly 3
million Palestinians living in the West Bank, and has continued to deny its
obligations under international law to vaccinate the Palestinian population
living under its control in territory.
Israel argues that the Oslo Accords, which established the PA and
transferred some control over civilian affairs to the Palestinian
government, absolve the country of its duty to vaccinate the Palestinians
living under occupation in the West Bank and Gaza.
Palestinian, Israeli, and international human rights groups have emphasized,
however, that under the Fourth Geneva convention Israel is obligated as the
occupying power to coordinate with local authorities to maintain and
preserve public health in the territory it occupies.
The PA has struggled to kick off its vaccination campaign, due to multiple
delays in vaccine shipments from foreign suppliers. So far, the PA is
estimated to have vaccinated only a few thousands health care workers and
government officials.
Meanwhile, Israel continues to lead the world in its vaccination campaign,
with almost 50% of the country's total population having now received the
first dose of the coronavirus vaccine, and over 3 million Israel citizens
having received both doses of the vaccine.