Israel halts plan to share COVID-19 vaccines with allied countries

Israel's plan to send surplus COVID-19 vaccines to allied countries was halted on Thursday, officials said.

JERUSALEM, 

Israel's plan to send surplus COVID-19 vaccines to allied countries was halted on Thursday following legal and political difficulties, officials said. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office confirmed in a statement that the plan has been suspended pending the legal scrutiny by Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit.

The suspension came following criticism and political opposition to what has been called "vaccine diplomacy." Earlier on Thursday, Benny Gantz, Israel's defense minister and alternate prime minister, urged the government to halt the plan.

Gantz said that Netanyahu's plan to send small shipments of vaccines to 19 countries was carried out without discussion in the cabinet and before its security and diplomatic ramifications have been studied. "Netanyahu's move has been done in an undemocratic manner and by bypassing procedures," he said in a statement.

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