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Sunday, August 01, 2021

Israel forced to discard tens of thousands of vaccines that the Palestinian Authority refused




Remember in June when the Palestinian Authority broke a deal with Israel to accept Covid vaccines because, they claimed, the vaccines were too close to expiration? (Even though the PA says it has the infrastructure to give 50,000 doses a day, and therefore had plenty of time to use them all?)

Well, another month has come and gone, and the Palestinian Authority still didn't negotiate with Israel another deal to use the vaccines that would expire at the end of July.

As a result, according to Israeli media, Israel was forced to discard tens of thousands of doses of Pfizer vaccine, worth some 6 million shekels. 

These doses could have gone to Palestinians. And none of the organizations and individuals who were in the forefront of blaming Israel for the Palestinian vaccine shortage are saying a word of reproach to the PA. 

The excuse that the vaccines were close to expiration cannot be used, even though that was not an excuse to begin with. So Israel's critics are not saying a word, since it is clear that the Palestinian Authority doesn't really want the vaccines all that badly.

In fact, in Gaza, the health authorities are scrambling to use up the shots they have, with a population that doesn't want them. 

The demand in the West Bank does not seem to be that high either. The Palestinian Authority has been giving out about 4000 doses a day during July, far short of its capacity, but there have been no stories about its supplies - mostly from the international COVAX initiative - running low. On the contrary, there are nearly 60 vaccination centers in the West Bank ready to give doses to anyone. The minister of health issues regular press releases on the number of doses given, but there have been no pleas for more doses.

The reporting on this issue has been one-sided and filled with half-truths and lies. But nothing shows the hypocrisy of the anti-Israel crowd more than the fact that they pretended to care so much about saving Palestinian lives when they could blame Israel, and now that it is clear that most Palestinians don't want the vaccines to begin with, they are not doing anything to help educate them.

Palestinian lives only matter when Jews can be blamed.