Israel halts prisoner release over hostage 'humiliation'

Israel said it is halting the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners until Hamas makes assurances that the release of the next hostages will take place without the "humiliating ceremonies".

- ALISHA RAHAMAN SARKAR

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office delayed the release of 620 Palestinian prisoners for several hours, which was meant to immediately follow the release of six Israeli hostages from Gaza.

Mr Netanyahu’s office in a statement early yesterday said Israel was waiting to deliver the Palestinian prisoners but wanted assurance of the “release of the next hostages” without what it called “humiliating ceremonies” in Gaza.

In a statement yesterday, Hamas said Israel’s claim that the hostages’ handover ceremonies were “humiliating” was false and a pretext to evade its obligations under the Gaza ceasefire agreement. The group claimed Mr Netanyahu was “deliberately stalling” the release of Palestinian detainees.

Five of the six hostages freed on Saturday had been escorted by masked, armed militants in front of a crowd, a display that the UN and Red Cross have criticised as cruel after previous handovers.