Sir, – The Israeli Ambassador Ophir Kariv once again refers to "the Oslo Accords, which are the existing applicable legal framework between Israel and the Palestinians . . ." (Letters, February 9th).
Given that those same accords required Israel to end its occupation of Palestinian lands by May 1999, it would appear that Mr Kariv’s interpretation of their applicability is highly selective. – Yours, etc,
RAYMOND DEANE,
Dublin 1.
Sir, – It is disingenuous of Israeli ambassador Ophir Kariv to cite the Oslo Accords – a long-outdated interim agreement scheduled to expire in 1999 – to justify the Israeli state’s refusal to fulfil its legal and moral obligations as an occupying power in 2021.
Another red herring is to compare the Israeli state’s world-leading vaccination drive with the efforts of the Palestinian Authority (PA), as though both entities were on a level playing field in terms of finance, resources and logistics. It is widely reported that the Israeli state secured its supply of vaccine doses by paying multiple times the price paid by EU states – a measure far beyond the means of the impoverished PA.
Decades of occupation, fragmentation and de-development have the left PA’s vaccination programme reliant on a World Health Organisation-led partnership with the Covax programme, which itself is struggling to secure vaccine doses for impoverished countries throughout the world.
Leaving aside the Israeli-imposed movement restrictions that blight the lives of Palestinians in the West Bank, the PA lacks the resources – besides a sole refrigeration unit in the city of Jericho – needed to store and distribute the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. – Yours, etc,
BRIAN Ó ÉIGEARTAIGH
Donnybrook,
Dublin 4
Sir, – While it is positive to see concern for the Palestinian people from the ambassador of Israel, it would be better if his government showed the same concern for both Palestinians and for international law.
That the ambassador relies on the Oslo agreements to put responsibility entirely on the Palestinians is disingenuous.
Alongside the issue of healthcare, Oslo provides for a reduced Israeli military presence in the West Bank, which has not happened. Oslo provides for an end to the building of settlements, illegal in international law, but these continue expanding relentlessly.
Israel cannot pick and choose which parts of Oslo it wants to honour.
Israel also must take responsibility for the Palestinian Authority’s difficulty in purchasing vaccines.
The World Bank has reported several times that the biggest block to the Palestinian economy is the ongoing occupation by Israel, the restrictions that go with this, and a punitive barrier on trade imposed by Israel.
Compounding this is Israel’s handling of clearance revenues, basically Palestinian taxes and customs duties collected by Israel. The World Bank describes these as “a key source of public revenues and they play a key role in the sustainability of public spending”.
Difficulties over the years in terms of prompt payment and in terms of opaque deductions again leaves the Palestinian Authority’s public finances in a unstable and difficult position.
The Israeli occupation has the effect of making large-scale expensive purchase of vaccines problematic for the Palestinians.
The simple fact is that Israel continues to ignore the Oslo agreements, continues to occupy Palestine, and as such still carries the responsibility imposed by article 56 of the Fourth Geneva Convention of ensuring “the adoption and application of the prophylactic and preventive measures necessary to combat the spread of contagious diseases and epidemics”.
To try and pass the blame onto the Palestinians is nothing but a cynical political campaign. – Yours, etc,
PATRICK COSTELLO TD,
Green Party,
(Dublin South Central),
Leinster House, Dublin 2.