TUNIS, February 11. /TASS/. The continued implementation of an agreement on a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and on the exchange of Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners fully depends on Israel’s actions, high-ranking member of the Hamas Politburo in Qatar Husam Badran said in a phone conversation with a TASS correspondent.
"The agreement is clear on all provisions and details. The problem is related to violations and abuses allowed by occupation authorities during the implementation," he said, confirming that "the ball is definitely in Israel’s court."
In Badran’s opinion, "Netanyahu is trying to be deceptive and shirk [fulfilling the terms] enshrined in the agreement.
Abu Ubaida, spokesman for the Hamas' Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades military wing, announced on February 10 that the movement had postponed the release of another group of hostages that were expected to return home on February 15. Hamas believes that Israel violated the deal’s terms when it "delayed the return of displaced Palestinians from Gaza’s south to the north, targeted them with airstrikes and gunfire, and failed to facilitate the entry of all types of humanitarian supplies in sufficient quantities, as agreed." That said, Ubaida added that the radicals have "fully complied with their obligations" under the deal and "will remain committed to the agreement as long as the opposite party does the same."
The Gaza ceasefire took effect on January 19. Under the agreement, during the initial 42-day phase, Hamas is expected to release at least 33 Israeli hostages in exchange for the release of Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails.