Nasser al-Sha'er, Deputy Prime Minister of Palestinian Hamas-led government, denied on Wednesday any involvement of his government in the abduction of an Israeli soldier in the Gaza Strip three days ago.

Al-Sha'er made the denial in a joint press conference in Ramallah with Finance Minister Omar Abdel Razeq.

Al-Sha'er, meanwhile, told the reporters that his government " will respect any deal brokered between Israel and the kidnappers."

Hamas' armed wing, Izz el-Deen al-Qassam Brigades, led the attack in which the Israeli soldier was seized on Sunday, and refused to react with Arab and Western efforts to release the soldier unless Israel released women and younger Palestinian prisoners.

So far, Israel refuses to accept the Palestinian demands. Instead, it launched a large-scale military operation against the Gaza Strip early Wednesday.

At the press conference, al-Sha'er and Abdel Razeq termed as " Nazi war" the Israeli offensive on Gaza, which destroyed the main power station there, two vital bridges and the already-closed Rafah airport.

The Hamas officials also appealed to the Arab League, the UN Security Council and the Vatican to intervene and mediate to secure peaceful release of the captive Israeli and the end of the Israeli operation "Summer Rains" against the Gaza Strip.

Source: Xinhua