JERUSALEM (PA) – Israel’s attorney general has warned Benjamin Netanyahu that he cannot share the country’s surplus vaccines alone with distant allies in Africa, Europe and Latin America, and that such an important decision cannot be made by the prime minister alone.
In an official letter, Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit claims that Netanyahu should have consulted the Cabinet for such a plan. The justice ministry released a letter to National Security Adviser Meir Ben Shabbat on Monday.
Netanyahu’s announcement last week of his decision to share some of Israel’s stockpile of riots sparked a riot and was later frozen due to legal questions from Israel. but not before thousands of doses of vaccine were shipped to Honduras and, apparently, to the Czech Republic.
Netanyahu did not identify the countries he intended to receive Israeli vaccines from, but an Israeli television station said it included a number of nations that support Israel’s claims to the disputed capital city of Jerusalem.
Israel has immunized more than half of its population against coronavirus in one of the most successful vaccination campaigns in the world since the end of December. Netanyahu dismisses the country’s vaccination as a personal achievement as part of his campaign ahead of the March 23 elections.
The prime minister has entered into agreements with drugmakers Pfizer and Moderna to provide sufficient supplies for Israel’s 9.3 million people.
But his controversial plan has raised questions at home about Netanyahu’s decision-making, as well as his choice to help African and Latin American nations in a time of global scarcity and when neighboring Palestinian territories are struggling to secure their own vaccine supplies. .
Critics say Netanyahu’s plan illustrates how the prime minister treats the vaccine as an advantage that can be used for diplomatic gain.
On Sunday, Israel announced plans to vaccinate tens of thousands of Palestinians working inside Israel and its West Bank settlements. Israel had previously shared 2,000 vaccines with the Palestinian Authority to protect front-line health workers in the West Bank.
In his letter, Mandelblit recommends that, for a “fair and complete government procedure”, any decision regarding the transfer of Israeli vaccines to foreign countries be taken by the competent authorities.
Given the importance and diplomatic implications of such a decision, Mandelblit said it was “appropriate for the issue to be discussed in government, cabinet or another forum that includes all relevant ministers.”