Poland to Welcome Vaccinated Israelis as Cases Decline

In recent news, Poland has announced that it will be allowing the citizens of Israel to enter the country. However, this good news is only for vaccinated Israelis, who have received both doses of the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine. In addition, the concerned individuals will also have to provide proof of a negative result of the coronavirus test, which has to be taken 72-hours before leaving Israel. 

This decision from Poland came soon after similar actions were taken by Greece, Georgia, and Cyprus. Just recently, Greece announced that it might soon permit vaccinated Israelis to enter the country. Cyprus and Georgia also stated that they are willing to recognize the green-passport program of the State of Israel. 

As of now, the number of people testing positive for the virus on a daily basis in the country is still below 1,000. On Thursday, only 830 people came up with a positive result, as per a statement released by the Health Ministry. More than 11,700 people in Israel, at the moment, are battling with the disease. 

Of the total active cases, 470 people have serious conditions, whereas 244 are currently fighting for their lives. 212 patients are intubated and the death toll in the country is more than 6,000. 

On the other hand, around 65,406 citizens were tested for the coronavirus but, only 1.3% had a positive coronavirus result. The trend of testing is readily declining but, the reproduction rate has once again risen. It went from 0.55 to 0.59. 

Where the soldiers of IDF are concerned, the total number diagnosed is currently at 119. The good news is that they are all in healthy and good condition. However, 659 soldiers are in quarantine in their own homes. 

In other news, a handful of left-wing NGOs in the State of Israel have started a petition, which they sent to the High Court of Justice. This is being done to ensure that the relevant authorities in the country supply the Palestinian Authority with enough vaccines to inoculate all its people. 

In the petition, the NGOs outlined that the people of Palestine do not have a sufficient number of doses available to them. They went on to add that the two countries are located in close proximity, however, it is only Israeli residents and citizens who have been inoculated so far. The petition was submitted by Adi Lustigman, an attorney, on Thursday. 

The NGOs that signed the petitions included Al Mezan Center for Human Rights and Physicians for Human Rights Israel. Adalah, which is the Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel, Gisha, which stands for the Legal Center for Freedom Movement also joined in. Rabbis for Human Rights and Hamoked, the Center for the Defense of the Individual, signed the petition as well. 

The relevant authorities in Israel had previously announced that they first wanted to inoculate the entire population of the country. Then, they stated, they will supply vaccines to the Palestinian Authority with additional orders placed. 

The country does not have any legal obligation to provide vaccines to the citizens of Palestine. Back in the year 1993 and then 1995, it signed the Oslo Accords, which transferred the responsibility in question to the Palestinian Authority.