Turkey tried to pirate a shipment of ventilators sent to Spain – informed Israeli source
Ramallah – North-Press Agency
Ahmad Ismail
On Thursday, an Israeli political analyst said that there is a "very ugly" competition by international intelligence services in regards to the procurement of medical supplies.
In an interview with North Press, political analyst Mordechai Kedar said that Turkish authorities recently hijacked a plane coming from China on its way to Spain which had landed in Istanbul airport for refueling.
Kedar added that the Turks pirated the consignment last week and confiscated 162 ventilators. "The pressure put on Turkey by international bodies pushed it to release these devices, and allow them to continue to Spain," he clarified.
Kedar mentioned the medicine which the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad brought from Japan, which is the anti-flu drug Avigan.
He pointed out that Israel volunteered to be one of the first countries to conduct a clinical trial of the drug.
"There are at least ten drugs that are being clinically tested in the world," Kedar added.
He added that Mossad brings medical supplies to Israel as it has important international relations, even with countries that do not have declared diplomatic relations.
Furthermore, the Israeli analyst revealed that a Gulf state pirated ventilator after Israel bought them from another country, but this regional country – likely a Gulf state – paid a higher price and acquired the devices.
In a related context, on Thursday, the Israeli Ministry of Health said that the number of deaths from the new coronavirus increased after the death of a 74-year-old, who was infected and being treated in the Poriya Hospital in Tiberias. The individual in question was suffering from chronic diseases.
The Israeli Ministry of Health indicated that the death toll due to coronavirus in Israel has reached 74 so far.
On Wednesday, the Israeli Ministry of Health called on all hospitals in Israel to reduce the use of narcotic drugs and not to perform non-urgent surgeries, in the framework of treating people who are not coronavirus patients.