Ramallah forms commission of inquiry into ‘vaccine scandal’
Following a public outcry, the Palestinian Authority decided on Monday to form a special commission of inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the botched Pfizer exchange agreement with Israel.
The decision to establish a commission of inquiry, which was announced by PA Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh, came in response to widespread criticism by Palestinians.
According to the deal, which was announced last Friday, Israel would give the Palestinians more than one million soon-to-expire Pfizer vaccines.
In return, Israel would receive an identical number of doses that the PA purchased from Pfizer, and which are scheduled to arrive later this year.
Upon learning that the vaccines were about to expire, many Palestinians accused the PA of endangering their lives by bringing “out-of-date” and “corrupt” doses from Israel.
Several Palestinian factions and human rights and medical organizations demanded the establishment of a neutral committee of inquiry to investigate the “vaccine scandal.”
Shtayyeh said in opening remarks during the weekly PA cabinet meeting in Ramallah that the commission of inquiry would present its findings to the Palestinian public.
He said that the agreement that was signed with Israel would also be made available to the public.
On Friday, hours after the vaccines were delivered to the Palestinians, the PA announced the cancellation of the deal. The announcement came after many Palestinians strongly criticized the PA leadership over the deal.
Shtayyeh said that the PA Health Ministry has returned 90,000 vaccines to Israel because their expiration date was near.
He defended the agreement with Israel, saying it was intended to accelerate the vaccination process. “The goal was to vaccinate 70% of the Palestinians,” Shtayyeh added. “We wanted to restore normal life, including the opening of universities and schools.”
The PA premier accused the Israeli Health Ministry of foot-dragging regarding the delivery of the vaccines to the Palestinians. When the first batch of vaccines arrived, their expiration date was too close, he said.