RAMALLAH: The Palestinian Authority said Monday it had pushed back the rollout of its coronavirus vaccination campaign due to a delay in deliveries.
The PA had said it was anticipating a shipment by the middle of this month, enabling it to start vaccinations for the general public in the occupied West Bank while sharing stock with Hamas, the Islamists who control Gaza.
“There has been a delay in the arrival of the vaccine,” Palestinian prime minister Mohammed Shtayyeh said ahead of a weekly cabinet meeting, without providing further details.
He said the launch of vaccinations for the general public would be announced “at a later time,” when sufficient supplies arrive.
The Palestinian Authority is expecting some two million doses ordered from various manufacturers, in addition to vaccines from the UN-backed Covax program, set up to help less wealthy nations procure vaccines.
It began vaccinating frontline health care workers earlier this month with an initial procurement of 10,000 doses of Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine as well as several thousand doses of the Moderna product via Israel.
The Jewish state, which is carrying out one of the world’s fastest vaccination campaigns per capita, has faced international calls to share its stocks with Palestinians living in the occupied West Bank and Israeli-blocked Gaza.
The PA has registered nearly 115,000 coronavirus cases in the West Bank, including nearly 1,400 deaths, while Hamas has recorded nearly 53,600 cases in Gaza, including 537 deaths.
Palestinians push back vaccine rollout over delivery delay
https://arab.news/9p92z
Palestinians push back vaccine rollout over delivery delay
- “There has been a delay in the arrival of the vaccine,” the Palestinian PM said
- The Palestinian Authority is expecting some two million doses ordered from various manufacturers
France deploys jets over UAE to protect its military bases
PARIS: France has deployed Rafale fighter jets over the United Arab Emirates to protect its naval and air bases against Iranian attacks, Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said on Tuesday.
France has hundreds of navy, air force and army personnel based in the UAE. Its Rafale aircraft are stationed at Al-Dhafra base near Abu Dhabi.
“These Rafales and their pilots are mobilized to ensure the security of our facilities,” Barrot told broadcaster BFMTV in response to a question on French action in the UAE over the weekend to neutralize Iranian drones.
“They have carried out operations to secure the airspace above our bases.”
On Sunday, “a hangar at a French base in the United Arab Emirates was hit by a drone,” Barrot said.
“Exchanges are multiplying to determine both how the country can defend itself against future attacks and how France can protect its interests there,” he added.
France’s Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier was however in the North Atlantic, as part of a previously planned multinational exercise, Barrot said, after he was asked if it had been sent to the Mediterranean.
To the best of his knowledge, it had not changed course, he said.
The United States and Israel launched attacks against Iran on Saturday, killing Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei.
Iran has responded by targeting US allies in the Gulf region.
Debris from a drone interception caused a fire that was contained at an oil industry zone in the Fujairah emirate on Tuesday, authorities said.
In Abu Dhabi, a drone struck a fuel tank terminal on Monday, causing a fire though operations were not impacted.
Tech giant Amazon said late on Monday that two of its data centers in the UAE were “directly struck” by drones, disrupting cloud services in parts of the Middle East.
