The government of Israel is awarding nations who have supported its policies in the region by providing small batches of hard-to-come-by coronavirus vaccine to them in a new form of diplomacy, the Washington Post reports.

With more than a third of its population inoculated with vaccines available in the nation, Israel has shipped excess doses from its stockpile to neighboring governments, including the Palestinian Authority.  Israel even used the Russian Sputnik vaccine it has ransom payments to secure the return of an Israeli woman being held by Syria; Israel sent Syria thousands of doses of the Sputnik vaccine to free her.

Among the nations benefiting from the program enacted by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are Honduras and Guatemala, which opened embassies in Jerusalem.  Netanyahu has also shipped vaccines to Hungary and the Czech Republic, which have also announced plans to shift their diplomatic presence to the Jerusalem.

“Over the past month, a limited quantity of unused vaccines was accumulated; therefore, it has been decided to assist Palestinian Authority medical teams and several of the countries that contacted Israel with a symbolic quantity of vaccines,” a statement from the prime minister’s office said.

The move is not without its critics within Israel, however, primarily due to the fact that Netanyahu took this move unilaterally without the approval of the Kineset, Israel’s legislature, or Netanyahu’s own Cabinet.

“The fact that Netanyahu trades in vaccines funded by Israeli taxpayers without discussion and accountability shows that he is running a kingdom and not a country,” said Defense Minister Benny Gantz, an opponent of Netanyahu’s in Israel’s upcoming election.