VIDEO: First Palestinians get jabs as Israel rolls out West Bank vaccines
The first workers from the West Bank were inoculated as they crossed into Israel for work
Michael Daventry is Jewish News’s foreign and broadcast editor
Israel has begun offering vaccines to Palestinians following weeks of criticism that its sweeping inoculation programme excluded the West Bank and Gaza.
On Monday the first workers crossing into Israel from the West Bank were offered doses of the Moderna vaccine by paramedics from Magen David Adom.
It follows a longstanding debate over whether Israel is responsible, as the occupying force, for providing coronavirus vaccines to people living in West Bank.
More than 3.7 million Israelis — over two-fifths of the population — have received two doses of the Pfizer vaccine.
Israel says healthcare was devolved to the Palestinian local government officials under the Oslo Accords, the interim peace deals reached in the 1990s.
But the Palestinian Authority has so far only acquired enough doses for 6,000 people in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, which are home to five million Palestinians.
Magen David Adom said around 700 Palestinians who live in the West Bank but work in Israel were offered vaccinations at Ephraim Gate, the crossing east of Netanya.
The inoculation programme is organised by COGAT, the Israeli military agency that coordinates government operations in the West Bank.
Speaking ahead of the rollout, Magen David Adom director general Eli Bin said: “I have no doubt that the cooperation between MDA, the Ministry of Health, the IDF, the Border Authority, the contractors, and the employers will lead to a high response from the workers to get vaccinated and we hope that this is another step in getting out of the corona crisis and returning the economy to full activity.”
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
