Israel must follow international law and vaccinate Palestinians too

Israel has rolled out a rapid COVID vaccination program that has already provided the first dose to 54% of its 9 million citizens, including Israeli settlers in the West Bank. However, many critics have voiced concern that it has excluded the more than 4.5 million Palestinians living under Israel’s direct or indirect military and administrative control. The Israeli health minister said Palestinians will have to take care of themselves, and other Israeli commentators have argued that, according to the Olso Accords, the Palestinian Authority (PA) is responsible for public health under the principle of self-determination. While on Jan. 31 Israel agreed to provide 5,000 doses of the vaccine for Palestinian front-line medical workers, this falls far short of the overall need.

Israel’s refusal to take responsibility has prompted widespread pushback. The liberal American pro-Israel Jewish lobby group, JStreet, said Israel is morally and legally obligated to “ensure that all residents of the territory it rules over receive necessary medical services.” A tweet, since deleted, by Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY) said, “Netanyahu must ensure that both Israelis and Palestinians have access to the Covid vaccine. This cruelty is another reminder of why the occupation must end.” According to Human Rights Watch, “Nothing can justify today’s reality in parts of the West Bank, where people on one side of the street are receiving vaccines, while those on the other do not, based on whether they’re Jewish or Palestinian.”

While according to the Oslo Accords, Palestinians should have had an independent state by 1998, Israel remains the occupying power controlling all aspects of life, from border crossings to medical care. As a result, Israel bears responsibility for and has a legal and moral duty toward Palestinians in all aspects of life.

Under Article 56 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, Israel, as an occupying power, has obligations toward Palestinians and a duty to ensure access to health institutions, services, and hospitals; to maintain public health; and to adopt preventive measures to combat the spread of infectious diseases.

Numerous human rights organizations, including Israeli and Palestinian ones as well as Amnesty, have called on Israel to provide the vaccine to Palestinians. Not doing so constitutes racial discrimination and a denial of Palestinians’ right to health care under international law. According to the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the Oslo Accords must be “interpreted and applied consistently with international law, and cannot derogate from its broad protections.”

For now, the PA is looking for funding to acquire the vaccine, while knowing that it lacks the resources given its fragile health system. Health officials have made contradictory statements about when they will be able to obtain it, meaning millions of Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip are unlikely to be vaccinated anytime soon.

Instead of waiting for assistance, the PA must exert pressure on the international community and U.N. to push Israel to fulfill its obligation to provide the vaccine and distribute it without discrimination. Israel must also lift the Gaza blockade to enable its health system to confront the alarming rise in COVID-19 cases in recent weeks.

Follow on Twitter: @CarolDkas

Published on Middle East Institute

https://www.mei.edu/blog/monday-briefing-islamic-republics-bittersweet-anniversary#kasbari

Non-resident Scholar

Middle East Institute