Palestinians living under Israeli occupation in the West Bank and Gaza urgently need access to Covid vaccination in order to begin to reverse the worsening Covid situation.  The fact that Israeli settlers living in the same land are already enjoying a huge roll-out of vaccine throws a clear light on the apartheid situation in Palestine.  Israel, as an occupying power, has a responsibility under the Geneva Conventions to ensure health care of the occupied people. They could supply the Palestinians with vaccine but are not doing so. Israel is vaccinating its own prisoners but Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails are not being vaccinated.

Any request to Israel for the vaccine is likely to become entangled in political conditions.   The international initiative COVAX is likely to supply only a small percentage of Palestine’s need and this might take some time. Palestine is poor and cannot afford enough vaccine for the number of people who would be entitled to it.

This petition is to the UK Foreign Office calling on them to take a dual approach. At the same time they should approach Israel AND the UK should take action on its own.

1.         Remembering that the UK is a signatory of the Geneva Conventions, we ask our government to remind Israel of its responsibility under the Conventions and call on it to supply the Covid vaccine to the Palestinian Ministry of Health with no political conditions attached.

2.         Because of the urgency of the situation, we ask our government to make vaccine available to Palestine and to foot the bill as part of the UK aid budget.