Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak said that Hamas seemed to be willing to conditionally release an Israeli soldier kidnapped by Palestinian militants, according to a report by Egypt's top-selling daily al-Ahram to be published on Friday.

Mubarak said in an interview with the daily, a copy of which was obtained by Xinhua on late Thursday night, that Egypt's contacts with Palestinian groups including Hamas had generated some positive results over the kidnapped Israeli soldier.

Hamas "seemed to be willing to conditionally release the Israeli soldier kidnapped by Palestinian militants as soon as possible," he said.

But an agreement on the release has not yet been achieved with the Israeli government, said Mubarak, whose country has been long playing a mediating role between the Palestinians and Israel.

Source: Xinhua