Israel leaves Palestinians to death amid COVID-19 pandemic - lawmaker

Israel leaves Palestinians to death amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the head of the Turkey-Palestine parliamentary friendship group said on Thursday.

"Israel which could not massacre the Palestinian people with bombs and bullets [now] leaves them to death in their fight against COVID-19," Hasan Turan told the reporters in the parliament.

Turan thanked Turkish Parliament Speaker Mustafa Şentop, who sent a letter to his Israeli counterpart on the vaccination of Palestinian prisoners against the coronavirus.

"Israel, which adopts this kind of tyrannical attitude in such humanitarian situation, slights the decisions of international organizations, including the World Health Organization and the United Nations," he said.

Sentop said on Wednesday that he sent a letter to Israeli Parliament Speaker Yariv Levin on vaccinating Palestinian prisoners and detainees in Israel's prisons, noting that this was a humanitarian issue.

Turan called on the world to voice crimes against humanity committed by Israel in Palestine.

"Let's not forget that world peace cannot be achieved unless peace in the Middle East and Palestine is achieved. The independence of Palestine is a historical, conscientious, and humanitarian necessity," he said.

Israel is one of the leading countries in vaccinating its population. Nearly half its population has already received the first dose of the vaccine against COVID-19. Meanwhile, neighboring Palestinian territories are struggling to secure their own vaccine supplies.