Hamas says Israel evading obligations as release of Palestinians delayed

Hamas has condemned Israel’s decision to postpone the release of more than 600 Palestinian prisoners, saying its claim that the captives ‘ handover ceremonies are “humiliating” was false and a pretext to evade Israel’s obligations under the Gaza ceasefire agreement.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin “Netanyahu’s decision reflects a deliberate attempt to disrupt the agreement, represents a clear violation of its terms, and shows the occupation’s lack of reliability in implementing its obligations”, Ezzat El Rashq, a member of the Hamas political bureau, said in a statement on Sunday.

After Hamas upheld its side of the ceasefire agreement by releasing six Israeli captives from Gaza, the last group of living captives to be freed during the first phase of the ceasefire, Israel delayed the release of 620 Palestinian prisoners scheduled for release on Saturday.

Netanyahu earlier on Sunday vowed to delay releasing Palestinians while putting forth a new demand that is not explicitly stated in the ceasefire agreement.

It has been decided to postpone the release of terrorists scheduled for yesterday [Saturday] until the next hostages are freed, in accordance with Hamas’ repeated violations, including the appalling ceremonies that mock our hostages and the cynical use of hostages for propaganda,” Netanyahu’s office said in a statement.

Hamas accused Netanyahu of playing “dirty games to sabotage and undermine” the ceasefire agreement and called the action a “blatant violation” of it.

Hamas criticized the staging of the captive release, calling on mediators to ensure Israel adheres to the terms of the agreement, saying that “the prisoner handover ceremony does not include any insult to them, but rather reflects the noble humane treatment of them.”

In high-profile handovers, with masked fighters parading the captives on stage, Hamas has released 25 Israeli prisoners since the ceasefire ended on January 19. The Israeli and Palestinian prisoners’ release is not explicitly stated in the ceasefire agreement.

Netanyahu is “always stalling,” he claims.

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.

The mediators, who have been assisting the release of Palestinian prisoners and Israeli prisoners, have a lot of questions and a lot of false hopes, according to Odeh.

Palestinian families waited for hours on Saturday in the occupied West Bank and Gaza for their loved ones to leave Israeli concentration camps. According to the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society, Israel would release 620 prisoners, the majority of whom were from Gaza, from detention during the war.

“We have been sitting in our chairs waiting for many hours, but after many hours, nothing. What else is there, though? 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.