GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — A senior Hamas official says a German mediator trying to broker the release of an Israeli soldier held for four years in Gaza recently visited the Palestinian territory after months of deadlock.
Osama Mazeini said Saturday the mediator made a “feeler visit,” suggesting a renewed attempt to push forward negotiations to swap Sgt. Gilad Schalit for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.
Mazeini did not say when the mediator came to Gaza. A London-based Arabic newspaper said he visited two weeks ago.
Hamas-backed militants seized Schalit in a cross-border raid in 2006.
Israeli officials were not available for comment.
