End Medical Apartheid

Israel has been celebrated for the speed and efficiency in rolling out a Covid vaccine - vaccinating a larger share of its population than any other country in the world... but 5 million Palestinians have been completely sidelined.

While 20% of Israeli's have already been vaccinated, not a single Palestinian in the West Bank or Gaza has had access to a vaccine. Take action now to end medical apartheid. Write to the Foreign Office.

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Dear Secretary of State, Israel's largest human rights organisation, B'Tselem, this week <a href="https://www.btselem.org/publications/fulltext/202101_this_is_apartheid">published a report</a> declaring Israel to be an apartheid state. Every part of Palestinian life is effected by the discriminatory policies of Israel, but perhaps most shocking is the consequence of medical apartheid. Israel has been celebrated for the speed and efficiency in rolling out a Covid vaccine - vaccinating a larger share of its population than any other country in the world... but 5 million Palestinians have been completely sidelined. While 20% of Israeli's have already been vaccinated, not a single Palestinian in the West Bank or Gaza has had access to a vaccine. The COVID-19 situation in the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt) is dire. Decades of occupation and blockade mean that the local Palestinian health systems do not have the financial or material resources they need to sustain COVID-19 response long-term. Gaza’s health system, in particular, is on the brink of collapse. According to the <a href="https://app.powerbi.com/view?r=eyJrIjoiODJlYWM1YTEtNDAxZS00OTFlLThkZjktNDA1ODY2OGQ3NGJkIiwidCI6ImY2MTBjMGI3LWJkMjQtNGIzOS04MTBiLTNkYzI4MGFmYjU5MCIsImMiOjh9">World Health Organization (WHO)</a>, there have been 165,250 confirmed coronavirus cases in the oPt and 1,735 deaths. There are around 1,800 new cases being registered every day. With the COVID-19 pandemic set to become a multi-year crisis, only a programme of mass vaccination will be sufficient to relieve the pressures on this system and prevent further avoidable loss of life and humanitarian suffering. Access to vaccines: Israel has vaccinated more than <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jan/10/netanyahu-touts-pfizer-deal-after-20-of-israelis-get-covid-jab">20% of its population</a>. However, only citizens of Israel, including Israeli settlers in the West Bank, and Palestinian residents of Jerusalem are included in the vaccine allocation policy. This means that approximately 5 million Palestinians living under Israeli occupation in the West Bank and Gaza are excluded. The Palestinian Authority has submitted an application to COVAX to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jan/03/palestinians-excluded-from-israeli-covid-vaccine-rollout-as-jabs-go-to-settlers">support vaccination for up to 20% of its population</a>. This support may take many months to arrive, and alone would not be sufficient to address vaccination needs in the West Bank and Gaza. The Palestinian Ministry of Health and its partners (UNICEF, WHO and UNRWA) are currently <a href="https://www.ochaopt.org/content/covid-19-emergency-situation-report-25?__cf_chl_jschl_tk__=f00ef30b1a3e5a2edc3704f09e2fd960229585fd-1610559073-0-AfcaA3jQ3wJNuxVMcYnGeIEsjdzN5XdfnggRZpquB6-_De17-FWZ9A-P77a62fHSQFZpduwogGy8aL33B7UIblM5SORE1e0l0YABIy6RaE8s5hHZD2_TbR8laeJjJkn5X9-2FhK51iWFp45nLVwOmu6FlCc0X_p4Zzo-pwBbvwDhR7Dm2BQzCiqxyTZy3qHWM2aOOzFDoHF4v30TYSFd6OsPXr2WAv-r6aASQDPWB0kEeqhFzUPmKXAQiicgQp3qWyFwe_B49y5EsMUOSM5yiUUuNCez8ev5cHqk9qD0C5ANOW0IhIMd9tCyEuZuoODDycj_w3fGyXclf6HKtnWs7V4ieq6oMqi7k6in7llnLuP8Vr3G4DItYDXi9EYc8xH-Pg">developing a national deployment and vaccination plan</a> for the occupied Palestinian territory, though the chronic financial crisis faced by the Palestinian Authority and local authorities in Gaza limit their ability to implement a comprehensive programme. Under <a href="https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/applic/ihl/ihl.nsf/ART/380-600063?OpenDocument">Article 56</a> of the Fourth Geneva Convention Israel, as the occupying power, has the duty of ensuring, to the fullest extent of the means available to it, “the adoption and application of the prophylactic and preventive measures necessary to combat the spread of contagious diseases and epidemics” in the occupied Palestinian territory (the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and Gaza), with the cooperation of local authorities. Under <a href="https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/applic/ihl/ihl.nsf/ART/380-600062?OpenDocument">Article 55</a> Israel has the duty of ensuring “medical supplies of the population … if the resources of the occupied territory are inadequate.” The severe budgetary shortfalls of the Palestinian Authority and local authorities in Gaza result in large part from the <a href="https://www.map.org.uk/downloads/health-under-occupation---map-report-2017.pdf">long-term restrictive policies and practices</a> characterising Israel’s more than 50 years of occupation, 13 years of illegal closure and blockade in Gaza. These severely limit the ability of these authorities to purchase and distribute vaccines to the population. Responsibility for ensuring access to vaccines therefore lies with Israel as the occupying power, in cooperation with the local Palestinian authorities including the Palestinian Ministry of Health, and with the global <a href="https://www.gavi.org/vaccineswork/covax-explained">COVAX</a> facility. The Oslo Accords do not absolve Israel of its duties as an occupying power, as per Articles 7,8 and 47 of the Fourth Geneva Convention. A <a href="https://www.phr.org.il/en/israel-must-provide-necessary-vaccines-to-palestinian-health-care-systems/?pr=11126">coalition of 21 Israeli, Palestinian and international health and human rights organisations</a>, including Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP), recently called on Israel to fulfil its international legal duties as an occupying power by ensuring that Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza can access quality vaccines against coronavirus. The coalition also call on the international community to do its part to facilitate essential COVID-19 healthcare supplies, including vaccines, and urges states like the UK to use their influence to ensure that Israel meets its duties and obligations under international humanitarian and human rights law. Please take action: The UK must urge Israel to fulfill its duties and moral responsibilities to assist the Palestinian health systems and Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including by: - Publishing the quantity of vaccinations reserved for the Palestinian population and providing a specific timeline for their transfer. - Ensuring that the vaccines provided for the Palestinian population meet the same standards of approval as those distributed to the Israeli population. - Ensuring smooth entry of vaccines and other medical equipment to the oPt, including preserving a ‘cold chain’ to keep vaccines refrigerated during transit if necessary. - Where the PA cannot fund vaccines and their distribution among the Palestinian population, Israel must provide full financial support that is not deducted from the PA’s tax monies. - Lifting the closure on the Gaza Strip to enable the proper functioning of its health system in the face of the coronavirus pandemic. Please let me know what actions the UK Government is taking.

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End Medical Apartheid