Israeli Prison Service (IPS) announced on Sunday morning that it would begin vaccinating Palestinian prisoners against COVID-19 during the coming period.

IPS said in a statement that it had completed the vaccination of all its staff and in the next phase it would begin vaccinating prisoners.

The decision comes in the shadow of sharp differences between the Attorney General of Israel, Avichai Mandelblit, and the Israeli Minister of Defense, Benjamin Gantz, on the one hand and the Minister of Public Security, Amir Ohana on the other hand.

Few days ago, Amir Ohana announced his refusal to vaccinate the Palestinian prisoners in the Israeli jails. By contrast, Gantz and Mandelblit recommended working on providing all prisoners in the Israeli prisons, including Palestinians, with Coronavirus vaccine.

The total number of COVID-19 infections among prisoners has reached to nearly 250, since the beginning of the pandemic, as highest of which was in Gilboa prison in November 2020.