JERUSALEM (AP) – Israel’s attorney general 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. minister.
In an official letter, Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit argues that Netanyahu should have consulted the Cabinet for such a plan. The Ministry of Justice released the letter, addressed to national security adviser, Meir Ben Shabbat, on Monday.
Netanyahu’s announcement last week of his decision to share part of Israel’s vaccine stock caused an uproar and was later frozen due to legal issues in Israel, but not before thousands of doses of vaccines were sent to Honduras and reportedly also to the Czech Republic.
Netanyahu did not identify the countries that intended to receive Israeli vaccines, but an Israeli TV station said it included a number of nations that support Israel’s claims to the contested city of Jerusalem as its capital.
Israel immunized more than half of its population against coronavirus in one of the most successful vaccination initiatives in the world since late December. Netanyahu is calling the success of vaccination in the country a personal achievement, as part of his campaign ahead of the upcoming March 23 elections.
The prime minister has reached agreements with pharmaceutical companies Pfizer and Moderna to guarantee sufficient supplies for the 9.3 million Israelis.
But his controversial plan raised questions at home about Netanyahu’s decision making, as well as his choice to help nations in Africa and Latin America in a time of global scarcity and when neighboring Palestinian territories are struggling to secure their own supplies of vaccines.
Critics say Netanyahu’s plan illustrates how the prime minister treats the vaccine as a resource that can be used for diplomatic gain.
On Sunday, Israel announced plans to vaccinate tens of thousands of Palestinians working within Israel and in its West Bank settlements. Previously, Israel shared 2,000 vaccines with the Palestinian Authority to protect frontline medical professionals in the West Bank.
In his letter, Mandelblit recommends that, for a “proper and complete governmental procedure”, any decisions regarding the transfer of vaccines from Israel to foreign countries should be taken by the competent authorities.
In light of the importance and diplomatic implications of such a decision, Mandelblit said it was “appropriate for the matter to be brought up for discussion in the government, cabinet or other forum that includes all relevant ministers on the matter”.