The Israeli Occupation's Ministry of Health announced Friday that more than one million doses of Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine will be delivered to the Palestinian Authority (PA) in the coming days under a deal to "share" jabs.

Under the terms of the deal, announced by the office of Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, the PA agreed to give the Israeli Occupation a reciprocal number of doses from one of its own Pfizer-BioNTech shipments due to arrive later this year.

The Pfizer-BioNTech doses earmarked for the delivery are set to expire soon, according to the office, and they were "approved in light of the fact that [the Israeli Occupation's] vaccine stock meets its needs today."

A source in the PA's health ministry confirmed the deal and said Palestine is expecting to receive a shipment of Pfizer-BioNTech doses between August and October.

In turn, an Israeli Occupation statement said they would receive the reciprocal doses from the PA in September or October.

Neither side said when the initial vaccine transfer to the PA would be made.

As the Israeli Occupation pushes ahead with one of the world's most intense coronavirus vaccination campaigns and normality slowly returning, nearby Palestinians without access to coronavirus vaccines are flooding hospitals already at breaking point.

Around 55 percent of Israeli Occupation residents are fully immunized.

When the Israeli Occupation launched its vaccination campaign December, rights groups such as Amnesty International and Palestinian officials urged it to extend the vaccines to the West Bank.

However, the Israeli Occupation refused, arguing it had no obligation to provide vaccines because health responsibilities fall to the PA.

In March, the Director General of the Office of the Palestinian Minister of Health and Director of Prevenative Medicine Dr. Ali Abed Rabbo, noted of the illegality of the PA having to fend for itself in a global race for the vaccine as an occupied state.

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

To him, the law is clear: the Israeli Occupation, 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.