The Palestinian Authority's refusal to accept 1 million doses of Pfizer vaccines as part of an exchange deal with Israel is a clear indication that Ramallah officials could not care less about the health of their people.
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PA Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh announced the last-minute cancellation in a press conference on Friday, after Israel had already transferred 100,000 does to the authority, claiming local health officials deemed the vaccines "do not meet their standards" and are "too close to expiring."
A statement by the Israeli Health Ministry adamantly rejected the claims about the validity of the vaccines, saying, "The vaccine shipment we sought to deliver to the Palestinian Authority was perfectly fine. The Palestinian Health Ministry received delivery of valid Pfizer vaccines with known expiration dates, as agreed upon in advance."
Turns out, Ramallah was well aware that the first shipment would include vaccines close to their expiry. In fact, the PA only signed the deal with Israel after speaking to Pfizer that confirmed that they were safe to use. PA Health Minister Dr. Mai al-Kaila even published a statement in which she praised the Israeli Health Ministry and its head, Nitzan Horowitz, for the deal.
Moreover, the agreement specified that future shipments would include inoculations that would last the authority 3-6 months.
Why, then, did the Palestinian leadership go back on the agreement?
After it became clear to Israel that Ramallah was planning to transfer most of the first shipment to the Gaza Strip, it vetoed the move. In addition, Jerusalem made it clear to Ramallah that it would not allow the transfer of these vaccines into the strip through the border crossing that is under Israeli control.
It was at this point that Ramallah decided to cancel the agreement, using the expiration dates as an excuse. Let's also not forget that Pfizer has confirmed that its vaccines are safe to use three months after the expiration date.
Horowitz is now one person in the Israeli government who has learned that no deal can be struck with the Palestinian leadership, for they care more about hurting Israel's international standing than they do about the health and well-being of their own people.
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