Democracy Dies in Darkness
Middle East

After delays and ethics debates, Israel begins vaccinating 100,000 Palestinian day laborers

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March 8, 2021 at 7:44 a.m. EST
A Palestinian who works in Israel takes a selfie as he receives the Moderna vaccine at the Tarkumiya crossing between the West Bank and Israel on March 8. (Sebastian Scheiner/AP)

SHA’AR EFRAIM, Israel — Israel on Monday kicked off its two-week campaign to vaccinate more than 100,000 Palestinians carrying Israeli work permits even as inoculations remain a distant dream for most residents of the West Bank.

At the crossing of Sha'ar Efraim, the Israeli military set up one of eight vaccination centers along the 440-mile-long barrier dividing Israel from the Palestinian territories with the capacity to vaccinate 1,000 people a day.