Israel has abruptly postponed the release of 602 Palestinian prisoners scheduled to take place on Feb. 23.
The Israeli prime minister’s office said earlier in the day that the release would be postponed until the release of the next hostage is guaranteed and until the bodies are handed over without any humiliating ceremony.
The previous day, Hamas had planned to release the prisoners as soon as it handed over six Israeli hostages in the seventh prisoners exchange, but reversed course at the last minute.
Hamas has accused Benjamin Netanyahu’s government of repeatedly delaying the release of Gilad Shalit and reneging on promises already made, calling it a gross violation of the ceasefire. The seventh exchange would have been the largest since the ceasefire was signed between Israel and Hamas.
Negotiations for the implementation of the second phase of the ceasefire are also expected to be difficult. The two sides initially agreed to discuss the second phase of the ceasefire, which calls for the release of all remaining hostages and the complete withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza, on Feb. 3.
Hamas was scheduled to hand over four more bodies next week, but further progress is unclear due to disagreements raised by Israel over the hostage swap.
