Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's controversial plan to ship surplus coronavirus vaccines to a group of allied nations was frozen Thursday following a legal challenge to the deal, his office announced.
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Netanyahu announced on Wednesday that he had personally decided to share small quantities of surplus Israeli vaccines with allied nations. He did not identify the countries, but Israeli TV said they included a number of nations that have recognized Jerusalem as Israel's capital.
On Thursday, Alternate Prime Minister Benny Gantz called for a halt in the shipments, saying Israel's stockpile of vaccines was the property of the state. He attacked the prime minister's go-it-alone approach and questioned Netanyahu's claims that there were really excess supplies when Israelis still have not been fully vaccinated.
"This is not the first time that significant defense and diplomatic decisions are being made behind the backs of the relevant bodies, while possibly damaging our national security, our foreign relations, and the rule of law," Gantz wrote. "This is a pattern which impinges upon our ability to manage the country soundly."
He demanded the matter be brought before the country's Diplomatic Security Cabinet for discussions and said he had asked the attorney general for an opinion.
Late Thursday, Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit said he had received a number of requests to review Netanyahu's decision. One of those requests, he said, came from Netanyahu's national security adviser, Meir Ben-Shabbat, who told him he had been instructed to "freeze any action on the matter."
An official in Netanyahu's office confirmed that Ben-Shabbat had asked for the delay in response to the legal challenge.
Despite the freeze, Army Radio reported that one delivery had already landed in Honduras.
Netanyahu, who is up for reelection on March 23, has staked his political success on Israel's successful vaccination drive, in which about half of the country's 9.3 million people have been inoculated in just under two months.
Deputy Health Minister Yoav Kisch told Army Radio that Gantz was jealous "of Netanyahu's achievements" and said Israel had more than enough vaccines to share with friends. He described the mission as a "strategic and political move at zero cost."
Netanyahu said Wednesday that Israel has hundreds of thousands of surplus vaccines. He said some extras were being shared in response to requests from allies as a mostly symbolic thank-you "in return for things we already have received."
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