In 1996, I won my school's history fair in the paper division writing about what I called then "the Arab-Israeli conflict." To be clear, I didn't win because it was any good, but because no one else at my middle school was nerdy enough to submit a paper.
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I remember the quizzical looks from the judges. Why is this little kid writing about, what was even back then, a controversial issue? Because, based on where I was born (Nablus) & what I have seen, I couldn't not. And I know I have privilege living in the United States.
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I know there are people that will have visceral reactions to this piece, many negative. All I ask is that you read it in good faith, which is how I wrote it. This is not an abstract issue to me and many Palestinians in diaspora. This is real, everyday, and painful.
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My father was born in a village in Israel before it was a state. This is not about denying human rights to anybody, but instead asking why we aren't all able to achieve them. I believe this vaccination issue is a straightforward way to express and explore that.
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Many thanks to those who supported me along the way and in this piece. And hey, little 6th grade Yara, keep going (and girl, get contacts, those glasses are terrible).
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🚨 It looks like we need a thread debunking some #Oslo Accord myths, specifically on Article 17. Let's assume the faulty and erroneous premise that Oslo displaces Geneva (let's be clear, Geneva states that no agreement between occupied and occupier voids its protections). (1/5)
The often quoted line is "The Palestinian side shall continue to apply the present standards of vaccination..." In this case, the "present" is in 1995. This provision is for ROUTINE vaccinations (e.g. polio, MMR) that are widely accessible & for ailments that are rare. (2/5)
Don't believe me? Scroll down here and you can see the "routine vaccinations" in question. These are the same vaccines almost every child in the world gets.
This provision clearly has nothing to do with newly developed, emergency vaccinations. mfa.gov.il/mfa/foreignpol… (3/5)
Updates on #Palestinian vaccinations: After conflicting reports on negotiations between Israel/PA regarding #COVID19 vaccines (again, the PA is not required to "ask" under IHL), Israel rejected PA requests for vaccines for medical workers. (independent.co.uk/news/world/mid…).
(1/4)
Today, the Palestinian Authority reports that they won't receive their first shipments of vaccines (not from Israel, but from AstraZeneca and potentially Moderna, Johnson & Johnson, Russia, and/or the WHO COVAX program for LMIC) until March: reuters.com/article/us-hea…
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This after Netanyahu promised that all Israelis above age 16 (presumably including settlers in the West Bank) would be vaccinated by end of March, coincidentally before the next round of Israeli elections: cnn.com/world/live-new…
Seems like a lot of people are interested in the vaccination issues in #Palestine, so I've collected some additional resources you can check out to learn more about this and surrounding issues (1/10):
First, the text of the 4th Geneva Convention. Specifically, section 3 about occupied territories: un.org/en/genocidepre…
Note that most states and international bodies (UNSC, UNGA, ICJ, ICRC) continue to recognize Israel as the occupying power, even in #Gaza.
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Now, Oslo Annex III. Here, we want to look at Article 17 regarding health, stating "The Palestinian side shall continue to apply the present standards of vaccination." Then I invite you to scroll through the rest of the provisions: mfa.gov.il/mfa/foreignpol…