[News] Hamas says Israel’s delay of prisoner release “grave violation of ceasefire deal”

[Anti-Imperialist News]

 Hamas says Israel’s delay of prisoner release “grave violation of
ceasefire deal”

Sunday 23-February-2025 -
https://english.palinfo.com/news/2025/02/23/334478/
<https://english.palinfo.com/news/2025/02/23/334478/#>
<https://english.palinfo.com/news/2025/02/23/334478/#>
<https://english.palinfo.com/news/2025/02/23/334478/#>
<https://english.palinfo.com/news/2025/02/23/334478/#>
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GAZA, (PIC)

The Hamas Movement has called on the mediators to intervene to pressure the
Israeli occupation government to release the seventh group of Palestinian
prisoners as part of the first phase of the ceasefire agreement after
Israeli jailers were ordered yesterday not to release them.

Al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, handed over six Israeli
captives to Red Cross representatives on Saturday in exchange for 620
Palestinian prisoners who were supposed to be released later on the same
day.

The office of Israeli premier Benjamin Netanyahu said last night that
freeing Palestinian prisoners would be delayed until Hamas ends what it
labeled as “humiliating handover ceremonies,” which are held in Gaza for
Israeli captives.

Israeli police vehicles that moved in front of the buses carrying
Palestinian prisoners reportedly left the Ofer prison in the occupied West
Bank last night before turning around and going back in.

The Palestinian Commission of Detainees’ and Ex-Detainees’ Affairs
confirmed that the Israeli government postponed the release of Palestinian
prisoners until further notice.

According to the Hebrew media, the decision to delay the handover of
Palestinian prisoners was made after Netanyahu held two security meetings
and rebuffed recommendations from security agency chiefs calling for not
delaying their release.

Hamas slammed the Israeli government for delaying the release of
Palestinian prisoners, calling its decision a “grave violation of the
ceasefire agreement,” and called on mediators to pressure Israel to
“respect the ceasefire agreement and implement its provisions without
stalling.”

Hamas spokesman Abdul-Latif Qanu said that the Israeli intent not to
release the seventh group of Palestinian prisoners as scheduled was a
“flagrant violation of the ceasefire agreement.”

“Hamas has responded to the mediators’ efforts to make the exchange process
successful, but war criminal Netanyahu persists in procrastinating and
delaying the release of prisoners,” spokesman Qanu added.

He urged the parties that meditated and guaranteed the ceasefire agreement
to pressure the Israeli government to honor its obligations without any
excuses or delay.

For his part, senior Hamas official Ezzat al-Resheq condemned the Israeli
government’s claim that the prisoner handover ceremonies in Gaza were
humiliating as “groundless” and a “flimsy excuse aimed at evading its
obligations under the ceasefire agreement.”

In press remarks on Sunday, Resheq affirmed that such ceremonies “do not
include any insult to Israeli captives whatsoever, but rather they reflect
that they receive humane and dignified treatment.”

“The real insult is what happens to our prisoners when they are released.
They are deliberately tortured, beaten and humiliated until the last
moments,” Resheq said.

“They are released while being handcuffed and blindfolded. Their families
are also threatened not to hold any celebrations for their release,” the
Hamas official added.

“Netanyahu’s decision reflects a deliberate attempt to disrupt the
agreement, represents a clear violation of its terms, and shows that the
occupation lacks credibility in implementing its obligations,” he said.

He called on the mediators and the international community to shoulder
their responsibilities in this regard and pressure Israel to abide by the
agreement’s terms and release the seventh group of Palestinian prisoners
without any delay.
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