We have no place, people die

Since February, Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza have been experiencing their largest corona wave to date. More than 24,000 people have been admitted for treatment and 20 people have died in recent days, the Worldometer shows.

– The pressure on the hospital exceeds what we have in terms of capacity. There is no space, beds, or staff to care for the most critical patients. People are dying, says Juan Pablo Nahuel Sánchez, who works in the intensive care unit at Jura Hospital in Hebron, according to Doctors Without Borders.

Younger people get sick

Hebron is now one of the worst affected areas in the West Bank. At the Jura Hospital, there are currently 71 admitted patients, of which 27 are in the intensive care unit. The proportion of young people affected has also increased.

– One out of every three patients in our hospital is between 25 and 64 years old, while before the majority were over 64 years old, according to Sánchez.

As in Norway, it is the British mutant variant that is the most widespread.

– We are now in the third wave of infection. The number of sick and dead is increasing and all hospitals and beds are full. Now we are very concerned and we ask that the vaccination rate be increased rapidly. If not, this could be really bad, says Ely Sok, head of Doctors Without Borders in the Palestinian territories.

He adds:

– The British mutant is spreading faster and more and more young people are affected. Therefore, it is critical that only two percent of Palestinians are vaccinated.

Believe Israel should help

Sok says many now expect Israel to help the Palestinians.

– Israel has now vaccinated more than 60 percent of the population. They have more than enough vaccines, they are occupying forces, and they control the borders of the Palestinian territories. Therefore, we believe that they should be able to contribute with vaccines. If they don’t want to give them to them, they can sell them to make the vaccination process among Palestinians faster, Sok says.

Two percent of Palestinians, about 120,000 people, have received one or two vaccines so far.

– As in the rest of the world, the quantity of vaccines is the bottleneck, while Israel has vaccines in stock. Israel says they want herd immunity, but they won’t get it until the entire area is vaccinated – that is, both Israelis and Palestinians, Sok says.

He points out that some Palestinians work in Israel and that Israeli settlers live alongside Palestinians in the West Bank.

– The responsibility of the Palestinians

Lior Haiat is a spokesperson for the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It points out that vaccination is the responsibility of the Palestinian Authority.

– We agreed on this in the 1990s. But Israel is helping the Palestinian authorities with the COVID-19 crisis and will continue to do so. We have vaccinated more than 100,000 Palestinians living in Judea and Samaria (Israel’s name in the West Bank), and we have trained them on how to do vaccination work in Israel, says Haiat and continues:

– We do not sell washing machines to anyone, but we do everything possible to ensure that the vaccines reach the Palestinian territories. Our goal is to get the Palestinians vaccinated, but the responsibility here lies with the Palestinian authorities, he says.

He points out that Israel only has vaccines for Israeli citizens.

– We still do not know if a second wave of vaccinations will be necessary. This is something that is being investigated now, he says.

Critical for the vaccine

Another challenge when it comes to vaccinating the Palestinian population is great skepticism about vaccines, according to Sok.

– In Gaza, there are a good number who believe that covid-19 is something that does not exist. In addition, there is a great fear that vaccines are dangerous. There are many conspiracy theories out there, he says.

MSF and other organizations are working to counter skepticism about vaccination.

Also, according to Sok, many Palestinians do not follow the rules for wearing face masks and keeping their distance.

– It is also not easy to become people in the refugee camps of Gaza to keep your distance. Simply because it is not possible, he says.

The Palestinian Authority has introduced a series of new restrictions this week to prevent the infection from spreading further. A curfew has been introduced from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. Schools, kindergartens, gyms and universities are closed.

– The Palestinian Ministry of Health takes the situation very seriously. Now only pharmacies and grocery stores can stay open, Sok says.