Chairman of the parliament's Security Committee Mohammed Dahlan denied on Thursday an Israeli report that his recent visit to Egypt was intended to reach a deal on releasing Palestinian prisoners in exchange for an Israeli captive soldiers.

Israeli media reported that Dahlan, also a senior Fatah official, visited Egypt a few days ago to finalize the prisoner swap deal as Egypt has been mediating between the two sides.

A statement issued by Dahlan's Office said that the report was untrue.

The statement said that Dahlan's visit to Cairo was part of a regional Arab tour aimed at "explaining suffering of the Palestinian people due to Israeli blockade."

During his visit, Dahlan met with Egyptian officials including intelligence chief Omar Suleiman, it added.

Three Palestinian militant groups kidnapped Gilad Shalit in a deadly attack on an Israeli army post near Gaza border on June 25, demanding the Jewish state release Palestinian women, minor and about 1,000 prisoners jailed in Israeli prisons.

Three days after Shalit's capture, Israel launched a major offensive on the Gaza Strip to bring Shalit home and stop Palestinian rocket attacks.

Source: Xinhua