Palestinian FM says Israel shirking responsibility to provide vaccines

In a speech to the United Nations Security Council, Palestinian Authority Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki accuses Israel of shirking its responsibility to “provide coronavirus vaccines to the Palestinians as an occupying power.”

The Palestinians have yet to formally ask Israel to inoculate wide swaths of their population, although a request by Ramallah for 10,000 vaccines for frontline healthcare workers was reportedly rejected by Israel. The PA has also said it plans to inoculate its population on its own.

Al-Maliki further contends that Israel still intends to annex parts of the West Bank. Israel’s annexation push was suspended in August as part of a deal to normalize ties with the United Arab Emirates.

“Does anyone really believe that Israel has actually canceled its annexation plans?” al-Maliki says, pointing to the approval of thousands of new housing units over the Green Line in recent weeks.