Israel to delay prisoner release: Prime Minister’s Office
The Israeli Prime Minister’s Office has said that Israel will delay the release of Palestinian prisoners “until the release of the next hostages is guaranteed”.
In a brief statement, the office said the decision was made “in light of the repeated violations by Hamas – including rituals that humiliate the dignity of our prisoners and the cynical political use of them for propaganda”.
Netanyahu playing ‘dirty games’ to sabotage Gaza truce: Hamas
Hamas has accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of sabotaging the Gaza ceasefire agreement, saying the Israeli government is not engaging in negotiations for the second phase of the deal due to end on March 1.
“We believe that, again, these are dirty games from the right-wing government to sabotage and undermine the deal and to send a message of willingness to go back to war,” Basem Naim, a senior member of the Hamas political bureau, told Al Jazeera.
The Palestinian group that governs Gaza remains committed to the agreement, and has abided by its obligations under the deal, he said.
Zaher Jabarin, the head of Hamas in the occupied West Bank, to Al Jazeera about the situation in the Palestinian territory:
- We are working with mediators in Qatar and Egypt to resolve outstanding issues.
- Netanyahu’s interest lies in continuing the war because the alternative is for him to go to court. We informed the mediators and the world that we are ready for the second phase of the agreement.
- There is a ceasefire agreement that we have been negotiating for 15 months, the essence of which is to stop the war. If the enemy wants to complete the exchange all at once, we are ready.
- The resistance treats the enemy’s prisoners with an unprecedented level of humanity, while the enemy responds with brutality.
- The West Bank holds a resistance reserve capable of defeating the occupation, despite the extent of its crimes.
Hamas: Israel delaying prisoners’ release ‘blatant violation’ of Gaza truce
“The [Israeli] occupation’s failure to comply with the release of the seventh batch of prisoners in the exchange deal at the agreed-upon time constitutes a blatant violation of the agreement,” Hamas spokesperson Abdel Latif al-Qanou said in a statement.
He accused Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of “procrastination and stalling tactics”.
