Two months into its mass coronavirus vaccination campaign, Israel sees a drop in COVID infections and in the number of serious cases. Israel exited its third nationwide lockdown, but some restrictions remain on inbound and outbound flights. Since the outbreak of the pandemic, 5,988 Israelis have died of the virus.
Palestinians in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip have received 30,000 doses of the Russian Sputnik V vaccine, and 2,000 doses of the Moderna vaccine donated by Israel. It may take a while still for a mass vaccination campaign to get under way in the Palestinian territories. A total of 1,933 people have died of COVID in the West Bank, while 565 have died in Gaza.
With the exception of a short period, the Israeli security doctrine always opposed defense alliances. The main fear was that the ally, necessarily a world power, would di
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Despite an extensive vaccination campaign, coronavirus cases in Israel remain high and show little sign of decreasing. Israel is in the midst of a third nationwide lockdown, and has halted inbound and outbound flights and closed down its overland border crossings. 5,001 Israelis have died so far of the virus.
Meanwhile, Palestinians in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip await vaccines, though it may take at least a few more months for their campaigns to reach enough members of the population. 1,516 people have died so far in the West Bank, while 526 have died in Gaza.
Israel marks grim milestone of 5,000 deaths ■ Netanyahu warns of 'massive and rapid spread' of British coronavirus variant ■ Palestinians start vaccination campaign ■ Israel expected to sign tourism pact
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Feb. 1, 2021
The Black January of Israel’s coronavirus crisis ended with especially gloomy sights. More than 1,400 people – an average of more than 45 a day – died during the toughest month since the virus landed here. Added to this are the horrid reports from the hospitals, which are coping with an unprecedented number of people who have contracted the virus. And as if to emphasize the government’s dysfunctional handling of the crisis, there was Sunday’s mass funeral in Jerusalem, in which tens of thousands of ultra-Orthodox (Haredi) men gathered in violation of the lockdown, without a trace of fear of police enforcement.