GAZA CITY (AFP) – The Islamist Hamas movement ruling the Gaza Strip on Monday denied recent media reports that German mediation had led to progress on a prisoner exchange deal with Israel.

“A German mediator made some activities one week ago, but on the ground we see nothing... there is no progress,” Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhum told AFP.
The Israelis “show no flexibility... they must free our leaders,” he added.
Egypt has unsuccessfully brokered indirect talks between Israel and Hamas on a swap that would see Gilad Shalit, a soldier captured by Gaza resistance fighters in June 2006, freed in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.
The Hamas comments came a day after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also sought to play down media reports of progress by saying there was no imminent breakthrough.
The German weekly Der Spiegel said this week that Israel had accepted a German-mediated swap but that Hamas had yet to respond to it.
In 2004 Germany brokered a deal between Israel and the Lebanese Shiite movement Hezbollah that saw an Israeli businessman and the remains of three Israeli soldiers swapped for more than 400 Arab prisoners.