The Minister of Energy in the occupation government, Eli Cohen, announced that the occupation authorities have set four impossible conditions for moving to the second stage of the ceasefire agreement with Hamas, in a move that has raised fears of the collapse of the ongoing diplomatic efforts.

These conditions, according to Cohen, include the release of all detainees held by the resistance, the expulsion of Hamas from the Gaza Strip, the disarmament of the Strip, and the imposition of complete security control by the occupation over it.

In statements to the Israeli public radio, Cohen, a member of the security cabinet, confirmed that the occupation will not release the Palestinian prisoners unless Hamas stops holding the handover ceremony for the detainees, stressing the need to return the bodies of four additional dead, and to release the detainees Guy Dalal and Eviatar David, who were forced to watch the release of their colleagues last Saturday.

The occupation authorities announced on Saturday evening the postponement of the release of the seventh batch of prisoners in the first phase of the exchange deal, claiming that Hamas was conducting “humiliating ceremonies” during the handover of the detainees.

The office of the Prime Minister of the occupation, Benjamin Netanyahu, stated, the day after a security meeting, that this decision aims to pressure the movement to speed up the release of the detainees.

In contrast, Channel 12 revealed a sharp division within the occupation security services regarding this decision.

She explained that the situation was assessed in two stages: the first witnessed a discussion with senior security officials who agreed on the necessity of releasing Palestinian prisoners, warning that the postponement could have “major repercussions” that would threaten the entire agreement.

But in the second stage, Netanyahu continued to consult with his ministers only, and decided to ignore the recommendations of the security services and insist on the postponement, in a move that was described as potentially leading to “the collapse of the agreement and the failure to release the detainees.”

The occupation was supposed to release 620 Palestinian prisoners immediately after the Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, handed over six detainees on Saturday morning.

The agreement stipulates in its first phase the release of 33 detainees held by the resistance, including 8 bodies, in exchange for 1,900 Palestinian prisoners from the occupation’s prisons, but Netanyahu’s intransigence threatens to pose serious risks to the continuation of the calm.