(ANSAmed) - TEL AVIV - The long indirect negotiations between Hamas and Israel for a prisoner exchange passed a delicate test today when Israel punctually received a short video of imprisoned soldier Ghilad Shalit in which he appears to be ''alive and coherent'', and released 19 Palestinian prisoners. The video from Hamas, which has been proven to be authentic, is the first tangible evidence that the soldier, who was captured by a Palestinian group in June of 2006 and since then has been held in a secret place, is still alive. Israeli TV defined Shalit as ''coherent''. In the morning, the German mediator handed the film over to Israeli mediator Haggai Hadas. It was then delivered to Premier Benyamin Netanyahu who will decide if he will give it to Shalit's parents or if it will be shown to the public. Having established the authenticity of the film, which is almost one-minute long, Israel released 19 Palestinian prisoners. With the exception of one prisoner (who is headed for Gaza), they arrived at the Bitunye border crossing and were delivered to Palestinian National Authority officials. A welcome ceremony was organised for them in the Muqata, or office of President Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) in Ramallah. In Gaza, Hamas is mobilising their followers to welcome Fatma al-Zaq, the Palestinian prisoner who was released today with her almost two-year-old son, who was born in prison. Today, local Hamas leader, Ismail Haniyeh, is scheduled to give a speech. In comments circulating in the press, it was said that today's events represent a ''general test'' in view of a prisoner exchange that the German mediator is working on. (ANSAmed).