Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said in a statement that the libreration of more Palestinian prisoners would proceed only when “the release of the next hostages is guaranteed, and without the rituals of humiliation.”
Hamas official Izzat al-Rishq condemned Israel’s postponement the release of the Palestinian prisoners and rejected Netanyahu’s accusations. “The occupation’s claim that “the handover ceremony is humiliating” is a false claim and a flimsy pretext aimed at evading the agreement’s obligations,” he said in a statement.
“The real insult is what our prisoners are subjected to during the release process, from torture, beatings and deliberate humiliation until the last moments,” he added.
Israel and Hamas have frequently accused each other of violations since the Gaza cease-fire started on Jan. 19. On Feb. 10, Hamas postponed the release of additional Israeli captives, citing Israeli violations of the agreement. In response, Netanyahu warned that the cease-fire would end if Hamas did not release hostages as planned.
Israel’s defense minister, meanwhile, said Israeli troops would remain “for the coming year” in parts of the occupied West Bank where they have launched a weekslong offensive and would prevent tens of thousands of displaced Palestinians from returning.
In a statement on Sunday, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said he had instructed the military to prepare to remain in some of the West Bank’s urban refugee camps, from where he said some 40,000 Palestinians had fled, leaving the areas “emptied of residents.”
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