The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Feb. 25 halted the process of sending Moderna coronavirus vaccines to foreign countries, according to media reports. It appears that the decision to send vaccines abroad will need to be examined by Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit before it can be further carried out.  

Earlier in the day, Defense Minister Benny Gantz had called on Netanyahu to suspend the transfer of vaccines. Gantz demanded that the Security Cabinet be convened for deliberations before a decision is made. “This is not the first time that significant security and diplomatic decisions are made behind the back of the relevant officials, with possible harm to the security of the state, foreign relations and rule of law,” Gantz said.

On Feb. 23, Netanyahu had said he was planning to give some COVID-19 vaccination doses to the Palestinian Authority and to various countries. The number of doses to be donated and the number of countries to receive these donations were not specified officially.

A statement issued by Netanyahu’s office said that in light of the country’s successful vaccination campaign, Israel has received many requests from countries for assistance in supplying vaccines. “Israel is not producing vaccines itself and has informed respondents that the quantities that were ordered by Israel are for the vaccination of its population; no ability to render significant assistance is anticipated at least until the vaccines campaign in Israel has ended. Nevertheless, over the past month, a limited quantity of unused vaccines was accumulated; therefore, it has been decided to assist Palestinian Authority medical teams and several of the countries that contacted Israel with a symbolic quantity of vaccines,’’ read the statement.