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Is Israel Legally Obligated to Provide Palestinians with Vaccines?

(Jerusalem Post) Tovah Lazaroff - Those who argue that Israel has no legal obligation to provide vaccines for the Palestinian Authority rely heavily on the Oslo Accords. One of the drafters of the Oslo Accords is former Israel Foreign Ministry legal adviser Alan Baker, who is now director of the International Law Program at the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs. He points to annex III, article 17 of the Oslo Accords. It states that the "powers and responsibilities in the sphere of Health in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip will be transferred to the Palestinian side, including the health insurance system." The text specifically stipulates that this includes vaccines. Baker told the Jerusalem Post that Israel has "a moral and epidemiological responsibility" to the Palestinians "because they are our neighbors and they come and work here. If they are ill, then we are ill. It is in our interest to help them." But there is no legal obligation, he said. "The full powers and responsibilities for health care and for dealing with epidemics in the territories is in the hands of the Palestinian Authority. It is written in black and white." Baker added, "As soon as we signed the Oslo Accords, any provisions of the Geneva Convention are no longer valid because both the Palestinians and the Israelis agreed to establish a special regime that is set out in the Oslo Accords."
2021-03-01 00:00:00
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