EGYPT: Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas after meeting Egyptian counterpart Hosni Mubarak in Alexandria says there's with no solution to case of captured Israeli soldier

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said on Saturday (July 29) that there was still no solution to the case of a captured Israeli soldier and said that negotiations to end Israel's ongoing siege of Gaza were still continuing. Abbas made the comments at a news conference following a meeting with his long-serving Egyptian counterpart Hosni Mubarak in Alexandria. "We are being very careful in order to calm the situation and stop all operations in the Palestinian territories, and in order to resolve the problem of the kidnapped soldier. I can tell you that as of now there is no conclusive result, but we are doing our best and expending every effort with regards to this issue," Abbas told reporters. The armed wing of the Hamas militant group on Thursday (July 27) dismissed comment from President Mahmoud Abbas, made during a visit to Rome, suggesting a solution could be imminent to the case of a captured Israeli soldier. "There are some parties who object to this and some who accept it, and as a result we have to finish this in order to bring an end to the destruction in Gaza, which is beyond anyone's imagination, and bring an end to this situation," said Abbas. Abbas had spoken to reporters in Rome after talks with Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi about Corporal Gilad Shalit, who was captured on June 25 in a cross-border raid from Gaza. In response, Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said that Abbas's remarks had been misinterpreted. Egypt has been a key interlocutor in attempts to arbitrate an end to the Israeli offensive in Gaza in a deal that would see the return of the captured Israeli soldier and a possible future release of Palestinian prisoners by Israel.

ITN Source | July 29, 2006

Tags:. .problem. .issue. .future. .doing. .deal