Israel has announced that it is to postpone administering COVID vaccinations to Palestinian workers, until further notice. Palestinians who work inside Israel and in its settlements in the occupied West Bank will be affected by the decision.

Al Jazeera reports that the Israeli military branch responsible for civil affairs in the Palestinian territories, COGAT, had last week confirmed that the COVID vaccination drive had been approved. The announcement was echoed by the Palestinian Authority, which had reached an agreement with Israel that 100 000 Palestinian workers would be vaccinated.

The inoculation drive was supposed to begin on Sunday. However, on Friday a postponement was announced by COGAT. Which claimed, “administrative delays”, despite having succeeded in launching one of the fastest vaccine roll-outs in the world.

The PA, meanwhile, had managed to acquire doses for only 6 000 out of the estimated five million Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Further, Al Jazeera reports that the West Bank had last week been placed under new restrictions to curb a surge in coronavirus infections.

Umm Muhammed Umar