U.S. Congressman urges ‘Israel’ to continue vaccinating Palestinians

New York (QNN)- U.S. Congressman Jamaal Bowman(NY-16) sent a letter to Israel’s consul general in New York city on Tuesday, criticizing ‘Israel’ for not doing more to vaccinate Palestinians.
The letter sent to Israel’s Consul General in New York Israel Nitzan came five days after Bowman deleted a tweet that criticized ‘Israel’ over the same issue.
In his removed tweet, Bowman urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to ensure that Palestinians receive COVID-19 vaccinations and added that “this cruelty is another reminder of why the occupation must end.”
🤔 @JamaalBowmanNY has deleted this tweet. He had come under attack from the usual suspects, though nothing in the tweet was wrong. pic.twitter.com/GEaQsFS4X5
— Alex Kane (@alexbkane) January 28, 2021
Bowman removed the tweet after Israeli and pro-Israel officials attacked Bowman, saying that ‘Israel’ is not obligated to vaccinate Palestinians.
However, a source with knowledge of the matter told The Times of Israel that the decision to do so followed conversations with local Jewish community leaders.
In his letter, Bowman cited the Fourth Geneva Convention, which states that an occupying power is required to provide vaccines to the inhabitants of the territories under its control.
“‘Israel’, as an occupying power has a responsibility to provide vaccines to the Palestinian people,” he wrote. “It is therefore a concern that Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank will be receiving the vaccine from the Israeli government, but Palestinians in the West Bank will not.”
“I hope you understand that this issue is personal for me,” Bowman wrote.
“As a Black man living in America, I know the feeling of being neglected by my government and society, of feeling like a second class citizen or not a citizen at all, in my own home,” the congressman said.
“I can understand the feelings of hopelessness and despair that Palestinians living in the West Bank might feel, reading in the news that the Israeli government has no plans to vaccinate them from a deadly disease wreaking havoc around the globe. I know what it feels like to see white Americans in the wealthy part of my district get different resources and treatment while just a few blocks away, Black Americans are neglected,” he added.
“Every single human being, regardless of their race, gender, sexual orientation, color, or creed, has the right to be protected from a common, invisible enemy of humanity. COVID-19 has already claimed over two million lives around the world. I am hopeful you will agree, and build on your government’s proven success and expertise in distributing the vaccine by expanding access to all people living within Israel’s border and in the occupied territories,” he concluded the letter.
Every single human being has the right to be protected from the global enemy of COVID-19. This week, I wrote to the Israeli Acting Consul General Israel Nitzan about distributing the vaccine to Palestinians, and I'm looking forward to meeting with him soon. pic.twitter.com/sLIfA9d6dD
— Congressman Jamaal Bowman (@RepBowman) February 2, 2021
Nitzan thanked Bowman for the “sincere” letter in a reply tweet.
Thank you @RepBowman for your sincere letter. I believe the situation is more complex &I see it differently, but I appreciate the opportunity for an open conversation about your concerns. I look forward to a meaningful relationship based on mutual respect. https://t.co/1FMriqKnqb
— Israel Nitzan🇮🇱 (@IsraelNitzan) February 2, 2021
“I believe the situation is more complex & I see it differently, but I appreciate the opportunity for an open conversation about your concerns. I look forward to a meaningful relationship based on mutual respect,” the consul general wrote.
Bowman is one of several Democrats who have criticized ‘Israel’ for not giving Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and Gaza strip access to the vaccine, including Rashida Tlaib, Marie Newman, and Joaquin Castro.
“I commend Israel for leading the world on vaccinating its people, but I’m disappointed and concerned by their government’s exclusion of Palestinians living under Israeli occupation from these vaccination efforts, despite making COVID vaccines available to Israeli settlers in the West Bank,” Joaquin Castro told Haaretz.
“This virus does not see or care about nationality, borders, or religion — its devastating impact is everywhere. The Netanyahu administration has a moral and humanitarian obligation to ensure that both Israelis & Palestinians have access to vaccines,” said Marie Newman.
This virus does not see or care about nationality, borders, or religion — its devastating impact is everywhere. The Netanyahu administration has a moral and humanitarian obligation to ensure that both Israelis & Palestinians have access to vaccines.https://t.co/mcD5TXLTI3
— Marie Newman (@Marie4Congress) January 5, 2021
“I think it’s really important to understand Israel is a racist state and that they would deny Palestinians, like my grandmother, access to a vaccine, that they don’t believe that she’s an equal human being that deserves to live, deserves to be able to be protected by this global pandemic,” said Rashida Tlaib, who’s a Palestinian American.
As of 3 January 2021, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), 159,034 Palestinians in the OPT, including East Jerusalem, had tested positive for coronavirus since the first confirmed case was reported in March 2020.
More than a million Israelis, some 12 percent of the ‘Israeli’ population, receive the vaccination in less than two weeks – the highest rate in the world while It excludes the nearly 5 million Palestinians who live in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, under Israeli military occupation.
‘Israel’ is obligated to provide Palestinians with the vaccines, as an occupying power.
Under the fourth Geneva Convention, occupying forces are responsible for providing healthcare to the population of the occupied area.
Most states as well as the United Nations Security Council, the United Nations General Assembly, the International Court of Justice, and the International Committee of the Red Cross, consider ‘Israel’ to be an occupying power.
The UN, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and many other human rights organizations have called on ‘Israel’ to help make vaccines available to the Palestinians, saying ‘Israel’ is obligated to do so under international law.
“The Israeli government must stop ignoring its international obligations as an occupying power and immediately act to ensure that COVID-19 vaccines are equally and fairly provided to Palestinians living under its occupation in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip,” said Amnesty International.
“These responsibilities, alongside its obligations under international human rights law, include providing vaccines in a nondiscriminatory manner to Palestinians living under its control, using as a benchmark what it provides for its own citizens. The Palestinian authorities’ own obligations to protect the right to health of Palestinians in areas where they manage affairs do not absolve Israel of its responsibilities,” said HRW.
According to the Palestinian Health Ministry, there have been nearly 2010 deaths related to COVID-19 among Palestinians in the OPT since the beginning of the pandemic, 521 in Gaza strip.