While the Israeli occupation authorities have been deliberately blocking the introduction of CORONA vaccines into the Gaza Strip since Monday morning, the final decision on agreeing to enter them is still in the hands of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Earlier in the afternoon, a Palestinian liaison source said that within hours he expected to allow the introduction of vaccines for the Ministry of Health in Gaza, but other sources said that so far there has been no real development on this step.
The Palestinian Authority has requested the transfer of 1,000 doses of The Sputnik vaccine to Palestinian medical staff, the Haaretz website reported.
Majdi Dahir, deputy director of primary care at the Ministry of Health in the Gaza Strip, said sunday evening that 2,000 doses will arrive as the first stage for the gaza strip today, noting that other quantities of vaccines will arrive in succession in the coming days and weeks.
Earlier yesterday, Israeli sources suggested that Israeli Army Minister Benny Gantz and Chief of Staff Aveve Kochavi would agree in the coming days to a request by the Palestinian Authority to transfer tens of thousands of corona vaccine doses to the Gaza Strip.
According to the Hebrew channel "Richt Kan", the Foreign and Security Committee of the Israeli Knesset discussed the content of the authority´s request to transfer the doses to Gaza, amid accusations from the committee chairman Tsvi Hauser that of the 500 doses that will go to the leadership of Hamas.
The representative of the Israeli Ministry of Health said that the vaccines transported so far had been for the benefit of medical personnel in the West Bank, and no dose had been transferred to Gaza so far.
"Without vaccinating Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza, Israel will not be able to fully control the epidemic," he said, noting that it is in Israel´s health interest to see at least two restaurants.
A representative of the Israeli National Security Council said that the israeli political leadership´s approach was to transfer 5,000 doses of vaccine to the Palestinian Authority only.
Hauser replied: There is a request to transfer 1,000 to Gaza, 500 of which will be transferred to hamas command, not medical teams.
A representative of the Office of the Coordinator of Israeli Government Operations in the West Bank, Colonel Eyal Ze´evi, said: The recommendation from The Israeli security authorities is to allow the transfer of vaccines to Gaza only from those that will be purchased by the Palestinian Authority itself, not from donors.
"So far, the security authorities do not know how we can prevent such an option, but there are now 10,000 vaccine doses in the Authority, and the National Security Council is considering the Authority´s request to transfer some of them to Gaza."
The session was loud after the intervention of some Knesset members, and Alex Kushner of The Israel Beiteinu party said that before any vaccine is transferred, work on the return of prisoners and missing persons must be transferred.
Knesset member Ofer Kseif replied that what he had said was contrary to international law, but Hauser shouted at him, "Kif: you stand by a terrorist organization, shamelessly side hamas," to which Kif replied: "You are demagogue" (i.e. demagogue).
The discussion was joined by Ahmed Tibi, a member of the Joint List, who said that international law required any occupying Power to provide certain services, including health services, to which the representative of the Office of the Coordinator of Government Operations replied that this was the job of the Authority, not Israel.
Tibi addressed his message to opposition Knesset members: "This is a shameful debate, after 10 years even your children will be ashamed of this debate."
Likud KNESSET member Avi Dichter responded by saying that the policy towardthe Gaza Strip should be different from the West Bank, noting that in the West Bank there is daily friction with 150,000 Palestinians, and this should be considered by the competent authorities.
"Whoever voted against the Abraham Conventions, what can we expect from him today?" he said.
Hauser summed up the discussion that it was not yet clear who would make the final decision on the issue, saying: "A decision on vaccines for Gaza must be made at least in the Cabinet."
"Israel must require the vaccine to be transported to Gaza in exchange for information on prisoners and missing persons, and the vaccination of Hamas prisoners."
