Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas arrived in Qatar in a possible visit to seek mediation for a deal to free Israel Defense Forces soldier, Corporal Gilad Shalit, the Palestinian newspaper Al-Ayam reported Thursday

Hamas leader Khaled Meshal is also in Qatar and it is possible, although no reports have confirmed it, that Abbas and Meshal would meet there to discuss the option of having Qatar act as a mediator in the deal to free Corporal Gilad Shalit, due to the country's connection to Hamas and Israel.

According to the report, Hamas had decided to freeze negotiations managed by Egypt, causing a crisis in the talks over a possible prisoner swap deal.

	Advertisement

But Egyptian security officials deny the report that their country will not mediate in negotiations over the deal.

While Israel has no formal diplomatic ties to Qatar, it does keep a lobbyist's office in the capital of Doha.

Israel set up such offices in 90 other nations as well, including one in Oman, but the office in Doha is the only one that remained open after a Palestinian uprising broke out in 2000.

During the last few months and throughout the Lebanon war, Qatar has been trying to present itself as a central player in the Middle East and has enjoyed a higher profile in the region due to its membership in the UN Security Council.

Qatar's foreign minister, Khamed Bin Jassim Al-Thani described relations between his country and Israel as "normal."

Qatari Amir Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani was the first Arab leader to visit Lebanon after the war there. At the time, Israel was in control of Lebanese airspace and had given the Amir permission to come.

Hamas leaders in Syria said earlier Thursday that they have yet to receive assurances that Palestinian prisoners would be released in the event of a deal over the release of the soldier, Israel Radio said.

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said in a radio interview Thursday that until the abductee issue is resolved, he would not discuss the release of Palestinians held by Israel.

Addressing the issue of a proposed meeting with Olmert, Abbas' aides said they were not interested in a meeting unless they had assurances it would deal with more than Shalit's fate.

Olmert told the radio that he hoped to meet the PA leader in the coming days.

Asked in the interview when a summit with Abbas was likely, Olmert said: "I hope in the coming days, I hope. I, in any case, asked him. I told him that I would be happy to meet with him."

But Olmert cautioned against expecting quick results, especially with the Islamist Hamas movement running the Palestinian government. Hamas is sworn to destroy Israel.

"I am making a very great effort to have a dialogue... I want to meet with him, we should start a process," Olmert said in an interview with Israel Radio broadcast on Thursday, referring to the moderate Abbas.

"[But] the distance is long... we don't have to be hasty. How it will work out, how it will end, that we shall see."

It would be their first formal summit since Olmert took over as Israeli leader in January when former prime minister Ariel Sharon was felled by a massive stroke.

Olmert said that his plan to unilaterally withdraw from chunks of the West Bank is still on the table, but added that he hopes his meeting with Abbas will lead to broader peace talks that will lead to an agreement between the sides, making his program unnecessary.

Peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians have been stalled for several years. The election of the Islamic Hamas party to head the Palestinian government has further increased tensions with Israel.

Israel says it will not recognize or talk to the Hamas government unless it renounces violence, recognizes Israel and accepts past peace deals, conditions Hamas has so far refused to accept.

Abbas, a moderate who was elected separately, has been trying to pressure Hamas to moderate its views in order to restart peace talks with Israel and get international sanctions against the Palestinians lifted.