JERUSALEM (AP) – After a quick start in its vaccination campaign, Israel announced on Tuesday that it has decided to share a small surplus of its coronavirus vaccines with several friendly countries.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s decision to share the vaccinations with his diplomatic partners comes at a time when Israel has come under international criticism for failing to deliver significant quantities to the Palestinians. He also faces accusations from a competitor of acting unilaterally and wasting taxpayer funds.
Netanyahu’s move is the latest illustration of how coronavirus vaccines originated as a kind of diplomatic currency, with countries using the drug to use their stock for political gain.
While Israel does not produce vaccines, Netanyahu has moved aggressively to secure enough vaccines for Israel’s 9.3 million people in agreements with Pfizer and Moderna. In just under two months, Israel has vaccinated about half of its population, one of the highest per capita rates in the world, and aims to vaccinate virtually all of its adults by the end of next month.
“Our supply is greater than what the citizens of Israel need,” Netanyahu told reporters on Tuesday. “We have more than enough to help where we can. It is mostly symbolic. ”
Netanyahu’s office said some vaccines would be shared with the Palestinians. But he refused to identify any of the countries he intended to help.
Israel’s public broadcaster Kan said the countries included Guatemala, Honduras, the Czech Republic and Hungary – countries that have all provided strong diplomatic support to Netanyahu’s hardline government over the past few years. According to the report, the vaccines were purchased from Moderna.
In Prague, Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis said Israel was donating 5,000 doses to its country following a request for help. He said the Moderna vaccines would be given to 2,500 soldiers helping in Czech hospitals.
In Honduras, President Juan Orlando Hernández tweeted about 5,000 doses from Israel. He said they would be reserved for health workers.
An Israeli official has confirmed deals with Guatemala, Honduras and the Czech Republic. He said the vaccines respond to requests from friendly countries, and not in exchange for any diplomatic favors. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the matter with the media.
Netanyahu’s main rival and government partner, Defense Minister Benny Gantz, sharply criticized the arrangements, saying it was achieved without any government discussions.
“The fact that Netanyahu trades in vaccinations of Israeli citizens who have been paid out of their tax money without tax liability shows that he believes he is running a kingdom and not a state,” Gantz wrote on Twitter.
Israel’s generous supply of vaccines is in stark contrast to the situation in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip. The large differences have drawn attention to global inequality in the distribution of vaccines between rich and poor countries.
The World Health Organization has expressed concern over the huge gaps, and human rights groups have said Israel is responsible as an occupying force for the well-being of Palestinians in those areas. Israel says it has no such responsibility under interim peace agreements. Israel has vaccinated its own Arab population, including Palestinians in annexed eastern Jerusalem.
Israel delivered 2,000 doses of Moderna vaccines to medical workers in the West Bank to the Palestinian Authority this month, promising to share a total of 5,000 doses.
But otherwise, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has so far received only 10,000 doses of Russian Sputnik V vaccine. Meanwhile, an Abbas rival has arranged for the delivery of 20,000 doses of Russian vaccine to the Gaza Strip this week by Hamas.
Together, these doses are a small fraction of what the Palestinians need. Abbas is awaiting larger quantities from a World Health Organization program for poorer countries and other sources, but an exact delivery date is unclear.
Both Russia and China have developed their own vaccines and used their supplies to exert global influence.
Earlier this week, Israeli media reported that Netanyahu had secretly agreed to pay Russia $ 1.2 million to supply Sputnik V vaccines to Syria in exchange for the freedom of a young Israeli woman who crossed the border into hostile land .
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Marlon González in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, reported.