Netanyahu suspends delivery of vaccines to other countries

Prime Minister Netanyahu’s office has suspended the delivery of vaccine doses to other countries in exchange for diplomatic support.

The decision comes after Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit sent a letter to National Security Adviser Meir Ben-Shabbat asking for clarifications about the program and Defense Minister Benny Gantz demanded that the initiative be halted and for the security cabinet to hold talks on the matter.

Netanyahu said yesterday he personally approved the vaccine shipments “in return for things we already received,” without further elaborating. The premier also didn’t say which countries are getting doses, but one of them was reported to be Mauritania, which has no diplomatic ties with Israel.

Honduras announced earlier today that it received vaccines from Israel and the Czech Republic said Tuesday that it got 5,000 doses of the Moderna vaccine from the Jewish state.