Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas welcomed the prisoner swap between Israel and Hizbollah yesterday, saying he believes it will serve as a platform for the release of Palestinian captives.
"We believe that resolving the issue of the prisoners between Israel and Hizbollah will help us resolve our own issues. We are also looking forward to have that soldier held in captivity (by Hamas) released in order to enable thousands of our prisoners to return home," Mr Abbas said.
He was addressing a joint press conference with Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi following a meeting between the two at Castille during which Dr Gonzi was invited to visit the Palestinian territories.
The Lebanese militant group Hizbollah handed the bodies of two Israeli soldiers to the Red Cross yesterday in exchange for five Lebanese prisoners and some 200 bodies held by Israel in a move viewed as a triumph by the Lebanese Shi'ite guerrilla group and a necessary evil by the Israelis.
The Israeli soldiers were captured in 2006, sparking a 34-day war that killed about 1,200 people in Lebanon and 159 Israelis.
"We believe that resolving this issue of prisoners between Israel and Hizbollah will fast resolve our own... We are looking forward to the release of the Israeli soldier in captivity so we enable thousands of our prisoners to come back home," the Palestinian President said in reference to some 11,000 Palestinian prisoners who are detained in Israeli jails.
Negotiations between Hamas and Israel on a similar exchange involving Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, captured by Gaza militants in June 2006 during a cross-border raid, is being mediated by the Egyptian government.
"I believe that these negotiations are serious and I wish that the soldier is released, the same way (I wish) our prisoners are released."
Mr Abbas said he had no details about the security scare which left former British Prime Minister and now international envoy to the Middle East Tony Blair out of Gaza earlier this week.
Mr Blair, who was appointed envoy of the so-called quartet of Middle East peacemakers - the US, the EU, Russia and the UN, would have marked the first visit of a top Western diplomat to Gaza after the militant group Hamas, which is classified as a terrorist organisation by the EU and the US, won the 2006 election. However, he cancelled his visit after the Israeli security services warned of a possible attack on him. The visit was probably connected to the development of a sewage system frozen by Western donors, along with other similar contracts, after Hamas took over, Mr Abbas said.
"We have made a request for the EU to allow this project to continue and I believe that Mr Blair was going to Gaza for this purpose but he had to cancel the visit at the last moment and I personally don't know the reason," he said.
Besides the all-important unresolved conflict between Israel and Palestine, Dr Gonzi and Mr Abbas also discussed cooperation following an offer by Dr Gonzi. "We are offering help from our limited resources but rich experience in the areas of education, water technology and IT," Dr Gonzi said.
Mr Abbas said the Palestinian authorities have always appreciated Malta's "balanced" stand on the issue; keeping contact with the Israeli government while supporting the Palestinians' rights.
The Palestinian leader left shortly after the meeting, ending his two-day visit.