The Qatari mediator between Israel and Hamas and Qatari Ambassador to the Gaza Strip, Ambassador Mohammed Al-Amadi, told Kan that the gap between Israel and Hamas over the prisoner exchange issue is still large. According to him, there is no real progress on the issue.
Al-Amadi called on Israel to release first the freed prisoners of the Shalit deal and then immediately sit down at the negotiating table in order to reach a deal with Hamas. He rejected the formula proposed by Israel: the restoration of the Gaza Strip in exchange for the return of the missing and the bodies of the soldiers.