The Palestinian Authority denounced on Monday that Israel is preventing it from shipping coronavirus vaccines to the Gaza Strip, which are intended for frontline medical workers.
Palestinian Health Minister Mai Alkaila said in a statement that Israel bears “full responsibility” for blocking the shipment of 2,000 doses of the Russian Sputnik V vaccine that were purchased by the Palestinian Authority, which governs parts of the West Bank, a territory occupied by Israel.
The Palestinian Authority has said it will share its vaccines with Gaza, a territory ruled by the Islamist group Hamas and home to more than 2 million Palestinians. Gaza has not received any vaccinations yet. Local authorities have reported more than 53,000 COVID-19 cases and at least 537 deaths since the pandemic began.
Israel and Egypt have imposed a blockade on Gaza since Hamas seized power in 2007. Some Israeli lawmakers have said Israel should only allow vaccines in exchange for progress in freeing two captive Israelis and the remains of two soldiers. of Israel that are in the power of Hamas.
An Israeli official said the country has received a request to allow 1,000 doses of the Sputnik V vaccine to be shipped to Gaza, which was still under discussion on Monday.
“It was not blocked. They are still weighing it, ”said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity so that he could speak on high-level deliberations.
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Associated Press reporter Josef Federman contributed to this report.
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