Gaza, MINA – A Hamas official has accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of “intentionally sabotaging” the Gaza ceasefire deal after Israel postponed the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, Al Jazeera reported.
In an interview with Al Jazeera on Monday, Basem Naim said Hamas would not engage in further ceasefire talks until Israel releases the 620 Palestinian prisoners who were meant to be freed on Saturday.
“Before going to the next step, we have to be sure that the past step, which was releasing 620 prisoners, are already released,” said Naim, a member of Hamas’s political bureau.
“Netanyahu is clearly sending strong messages that he is intentionally sabotaging the deal, he is preparing the atmosphere for returning back to the war,” He added.
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Israel announced on Sunday that it had decided to delay the release of Palestinian prisoners who were set to be freed a day earlier in exchange for six Israeli captives held in Gaza.
In a statement, Netanyahu’s office said the move came in response to captive release ceremonies held by Hamas “that humiliate our hostages” as well as “the cynical exploitation of our hostages for propaganda purposes”.
Israel and Hamas have conducted a series of captive-for-prisoner exchanges since a ceasefire deal came into effect in the Gaza Strip last month. []
Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)
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