Vaccines delayed, a blended lockdown, and dolphins (yes, we’ll explain!)

Palestinian children stand next to a mural in the Khan Younis refugee camp in southern Gaza on January 24, 2021. (Photo: Mahmoud Ajjour/APA Images)

The Latest:

  • 178,001 Palestinians tested positive for COVID-19; 166,961 recoveries; 2,001 deaths
  • Of those who tested positive, 107,172 live in the West Bank; 50,996 live in the Gaza Strip; 19,833 live in East Jerusalem
  • 633,991 Israelis tested, positive for COVID-19; 558,249 recoveries; 4,700 deaths

Last week’s assurances that the first shipments of the COVID-19 vaccine would arrive in the West Bank by Sunday went unfulfilled, as the coronavirus continues to spread albeit at a slower rate. In our previous edition of this newsletter we reported Palestinian officials revealed 5,000 doses of Russia’s Sputnik V were on their way to Ramallah. 

Palestinians are still seeking 100,000 in emergency doses of Sputnik V, and a further 2 million of Oxford’s AstraZeneca, the latter are due to arrive sometime in March. 

In the meantime, you’ve probably heard that Palestinians and human rights organizations are stating it is Israel’s responsibility to provide vaccines to the Palestinians, oft citing the Geneva Convention. The issue came up in a formal forum for a first time this week, at a meeting with the new Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Tor Wennesland, in front of the United Nations Security Council. 

Wennesland said assisting in vaccine distribution was “in line with Israel’s obligations under international law,” the Jerusalem Post reported.

Speaking over video conference, the Palestinian ambassador to the UN, Riyad al-Malki, said: “the occupying power has not provided any vaccine to the Palestinian people under occupation to this day, insisting that it is under no obligation to do so.”

Israeli officials have consistently claimed no legal obligation to vaccinate Palestinians. Israel’s new ambassador to the UN, Gilad Erdan accused the Palestinians of spearheading a “false and grotesque” campaign akin to “blood libel.”

Erdan argued the PA had “informed Israel they intend to purchase vaccines from the Russian government, and Israel has announced it will facilitate their transfer. These are the facts.”

Israel’s Health Minister Yuli Edelstein put it more frankly a few days before the UN meeting. Phil Weiss reported Edelstein told the BBC, “If it is the responsibility of the Israeli Health Minister to take care of the Palestinians what exactly is the responsibility of the Palestinian Health Minister? To take care of the dolphins in the Mediterranean?”

Marine life aside, we noticed in this Times of Israel article that the Palestinian Authority has never officially asked Israel to include them in their national vaccination program. 

The big picture: While we may not have any clearer picture this week of when the arm jabs will reach Palestinians, we can report it appears the spread of COVID-19 is finally slowing. While the number of new cases has decreased for the last six weeks, we noted testing was inadequate and at sporadic rates. Last week the WHO reported the positivity rate, which is a more useful statistic for regions lacking widespread swabs, declined by about half. This week it has continued to drop to 13.3%. In Gaza, where a majority of the new active cases are located, the rate dipped to 12.4%.

According to the WHO’s latest situation report, Gaza now accounts for 50.5% of all active cases in the oPt, followed by Ramallah with 9.9% of active cases. Lockdown measures will continue across Gaza indefinitely, which right now is a blended form of lockdown. In hotspots, cars are banned from the streets weekdays, and most businesses are closed. On weekends, shops can open. Schools are practicing a combination of virtual and in-person learning. 

Restrictions on movement in the West Bank are scheduled to continue until the end of the month. 

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