Prisoner release halted

ISRAEL has said the release of more than 600 Palestinian prisoners has been delayed "until the release of the next hostages is guaranteed and without the degrading ceremonies" at handovers of Israeli captives in Gaza.

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The statement by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office came early yesterday after vehicles apparently carrying prisoners left the open gates of Ofer prison, an Israeli facility in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, only to turn around and go back in.

The release of 620 Palestinian prisoners had been delayed for several hours, but was meant to occur just after six Israeli hostages were released on Saturday. Five of the six hostages freed on Saturday were escorted by masked and armed militants in front of a crowd - a display that the United Nations and others have criticised as cruel - after previous handovers.