Release of 90 Palestinian inmates delayed, as Israel reportedly blames Red Cross

The 90 Palestinian security prisoners set to be freed on the first day of the hostage-ceasefire deal with Hamas have not yet been released to their homes, according to Hebrew media.

Ahead of the return of the three Israeli hostages, Israel’s Prison Service bussed the first round of Palestinian prisoners to Ofer Prison in the West Bank, where Israeli security forces and Red Cross representatives verified each prisoner’s identity and performed medical checks on them.

Now past midnight, the Ynet news site reports that the security officials blame the Red Cross for the hours-long delay, and accuse the organization’s staff of deliberately stalling the process with the purported motive of making Israel seem like it is not complying with the deal’s terms.

The prisoners include 78 West Bank residents, who will be released at the Beitunia Checkpoint near Ofer Prison.

The remaining 12 East Jerusalem residents have already been transported back to the city and are now being held by police in the Russian Compound detention center. Once the release commences, police will escort the former detainees back to their homes.

Those slated for release today include 69 women — including one minor — eight male minors, and 12 men sentenced for relatively minor offenses like incitement, identifying with terrorism and disorderly conduct, according to Ynet.

A total of almost 2,000 inmates are planned to be released during the first phase of the ceasefire deal.