Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delays the release until Hamas ends its ‘humiliating ceremonies’ while freeing Israeli captives.
Israel has postponed the release of 620 Palestinian prisoners until the next release of the remaining captives in Gaza is guaranteed, with Hamas denouncing the move as a “blatant violation” of the ceasefire agreement.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday said freeing Palestinians under the deal would be delayed until Hamas ends its “humiliating ceremonies” while releasing Israeli captives, issuing a new demand not spelt out in the ceasefire agreement.
“In light of Hamas’ repeated violations – including the disgraceful ceremonies that dishonour our hostages and the cynical use of hostages for propaganda – it has been decided to delay the release of terrorists that was planned for yesterday [Saturday] until the release of the next hostages is ensured, without the humiliating ceremonies,” Netanyahu’s office said in a statement.
Hamas on Saturday upheld its side of the deal by releasing six Israeli captives from Gaza, the last group of living captives to be freed under the ceasefire’s first phase.
Hamas accused Netanyahu of playing “dirty games to sabotage and undermine” the ceasefire.
“Over 100 Palestinians have been killed in the first phase [of the ceasefire], much of the agreed humanitarian aid was not allowed into Gaza, and the withdrawal from the Netzarim Corridor was postponed,” Basem Naim, a senior member of the Hamas political bureau, told Al Jazeera on Saturday, referring to the militarised zone that divides Gaza into north and south.
“We are committed to the deal, and we have abided by all our obligations,” he said.
Since the ceasefire came into effect on January 19, Hamas has released 25 Israeli captives in high-profile handovers, with masked fighters parading the captives on stage. The ceasefire deal does not categorically define how Hamas and Israel should release the Israeli captives and the Palestinian prisoners.
Al Jazeera’s Nour Odeh, reporting from Amman, Jordan, said Israel’s decision to delay the release of the Palestinian prisoners was issued by Netanyahu against the recommendation of Israel’s security establishment.
“There are a lot of questions and a lot of dashed hopes, as well as a lot of work for the mediators, who have been working for the release of the Palestinian prisoners and Israeli captives,” Odeh said.
In Gaza and the occupied West Bank, Palestinian families waited for hours on Saturday for their loved ones to be released from Israeli prisons. The Palestinian Prisoner’s Society advocacy group said Israel would free 620 inmates, most of them from Gaza who were taken into custody during the war.
“We have been sitting in our chairs waiting for many hours, but after many hours, nothing. But what else can we do?” Khaled Khalil al-Jabarin, uncle of a detainee, told Al Jazeera.
Shireen al-Hamamreh, sister of another Palestinian prisoner, told Al Jazeera it was a “very difficult” wait.
“We wait for them, to hug them, and see them, but Netanyahu is always stalling,” said Fatiha Abu Abdullah, a mother in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis.
“God willing, they will be released soon.”
