[Analysis] From its outset, the COVID-19 pandemic was not created equally.

Across the world, the spread of the virus demonstrated unequivocal failures in protecting vulnerable populations. People of color, who constitute a larger proportion of the essential workforce in developed nations, were infected with the virus at higher rates. Day laborers in the developing world often went hungry, devoid of social protections. The uninsured, and those without access to proper healthcare, were left not to gamble with sickness, but, often, death.

To make matters worse, in many cases, these populations were even taunted with biologically racist and classist accusations about their ‘heightened susceptibility’ to the virus, with no regard to environmental factors.

In historical Palestine, for example, the 50 percent of 1948 Palestinians that live below the poverty line were largely left to their own devices to fight the virus, having less access to law enforcement, and PCR testing than Israelis. At one point, 1948 Palestinians even constituted the largest segment of cases in historical Palestine with one third of all cases, despite making up just 20 percent of the population, according to Israeli Occupation media.

When the Israeli Occupation government approved unemployment benefits for the coronavirus, it excluded those under the age of 20. For Israeli youth, this didn’t make much a difference: the vast majority are participating in military service between 18 and 20. But for 1948 Palestinians, it was another example of exclusion.

In the West Bank and Gaza, the situation was even more dire, with healthcare and social services even more sparse, and an economy on the edge of destitution. In October, UNRWA, which provides a multitude of essential services across Palestine and employs nearly 30,000 Palestinians, announced that it would not be able to pay the full salaries of its staff amid budget shortfalls.

In the West Bank, the pandemic was also confounded by high rates of settler violence and land confiscation, adding to both the physical and psychological harm done unto Palestinians this year.

In the besieged Gaza, testing ceased Monday after Hamas announced its ministry of health had exhausted the resources needed to test for the virus, a testament to the Strip’s necessary dependence on outside means that too often come up short.

The realities of the pandemic were not unbeknownst to the international community during their pajama-clad Zoom meetings. Of course, the understanding that the pandemic disproportionately affected certain populations was an underlying factor in the creation of COVAX, the World Health Organization’s fair vaccine distribution initiative, which allows poor countries access to vaccines at a subsidized rate.

It’s a worthy initiative: eighty percent of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccines have already been purchased by wealthy countries, a fact that comes as little surprise. The United States, European Union, and wealthy Asian nations will dominate the vaccine supply chain, and their citizens will be the first to return to safety and normalcy.

But despite the effort, it is unlikely that the distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine will be as inclusive as planned. For starters, the COVAX initiative will only commence once the World Health Organization approves a vaccine, which already puts poorer countries behind nations like Russia, England, and the US, who are all expected to begin the distribution process in the coming weeks, if not days.

But secondly, the initiative will only provide enough vaccines for 20 percent of a country’s population until all countries involved have been given their share. By some estimates, that means it will take until 2022 to get the vaccine into the hands of the remaining 80 percent in poverty-stricken nations.

In absence of an international body that can legally mandate a bona fide equal distribution, inoculations for vulnerable populations will largely be left at the mercy of the world’s most powerful.

Notably, the Israeli Occupation will likely be one of the first countries to receive a mass amount of vaccine supply, after Germany reportedly promised the Hebrew State to include it in any EU-vaccine deal, citing the ‘special relationship’ the two countries share.

“Germany sees Israel as part of Europe in terms of procuring the vaccine and therefore it will be permitted to convey the vaccine for use in Israel when it is approved,” said Berlin’s Israeli Embassy spokesperson Shir Gidon in October.

Neither country has mentioned a special relationship or commitment to Palestine, whose health ministry is still unsure how, when, or with what vaccine, Palestinians will be vaccinated.

But unlike other countries in the global supply chain, there is a law against Israel’s disregard for its most vulnerable.

Sunday, the Director General of the Office of the Palestinian Minister of Health and Director of Prevenative Medicine Dr. Ali Abed Rabbo confirmed to Roya that the ministry is waiting to see which of the four anticipated vaccines- two American, one English, and one Russian- will be approved by the WHO before making any purchasing plans.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has said Palestine is in talks with ‘several countries’ to obtain the vaccine.

Abed Rabbo denied reports that the Palestinian Authority is in special talks with Russia to buy the Sputnik vaccine, a move that the Palestinian ambassador to Russia recently spoke of, saying it would require the Israeli Ministry of Health’s approval of the vaccine.

When asked, Abed Rabbo said he wasn’t sure if the Palestinian ministry needed the approval or not.

What he was sure about was the illegality of the Palestinian Authority having to fend for itself in a global race for the vaccine as an occupied state.

“This is one more example of the Israelis violating their responsibility,” said Abed Rabbo, referencing a multitude of UN resolutions.

To him, the law is clear: Israel, as the occupying state, must ensure the health and wellbeing of Palestinians, and that includes offering them a vaccine.

It seems international law would agree. According to the Fourth Geneva Convention, “To the fullest extent of the means available to it, the occupying power must ensure sufficient hygiene and public health standards, as well as the provision of food and medical care to the population under occupation.”

Of course, as Abed Rabbo made clear, the violation of these laws is not new: the Israeli Occupation has known them for 72 years, and has actively disregarded its responsibility to Palestinian livelihood for just as long. It’s why Tel Aviv is known for its innovative medical advancements, and besieged Gaza City, seventy miles south, has had a medical sector on the verge of collapse far before the coronavirus crisis.

The Israeli Occupation’s attack on Palestinian welfare is not a 2020 or pandemic-related phenomenon by any means, nor is the fact that Palestinians are legally entitled to a protection that is unavailable to other exploited communities. But that doesn’t make its withholding of a vaccine to a virus that has killed millions any less unacceptable.