Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that Israel and Palestinian Hamas movement are still far from reaching an agreement on a prisoner swap deal.

"If a deal does come to fruition, I will bring it to the government for a debate and approval. However, at this stage we are not close to a deal," local daily Ha'aretz quoted Netanyahu assaying ahead of a weekly cabinet meeting.

The prime minister said that he will visit Egypt, one of the mediators in the prisoner swap talk between Israel and Hamas, and meet with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak on Tuesday.

Netanyahu's remarks came after Israel Defense Forces (IDF) killed six Palestinians, including three militants, in two attacks in northern Gaza Strip and the West Bank city of Nablus early Saturday.

Netanyahu said on Sunday that one of the three persons Israeli forces killed in Nablus, who the IDF alleged were suspected of involvement in killing an Israeli last week, had been recently released from an Israeli jail.

"This is precisely the consideration standing against the Shalit deal," another local news service the Ynet quoted Netanyahuas speaking to Likud ministers.

Hamas wants Israel to free up to 1,000 Palestinians in Israeli prisons in exchange for the release of Israeli soldier Shalit currently held by Hamas, and the Palestinian movement has reportedly presented a list of 450 names in Israeli prisons.

Numerous reports in local and world media suggested last week that Israel and Hamas are talking about some of specific details of a long-awaited prisoner swap deal via intermediary.

A source close to Israeli Prime Minister Office said that Israel had sent its offers on the deal to Hamas through German mediator last week, which included expelling about 120 to-be-released Palestinians to the Gaza Strip or abroad and banning them from returning to the West Bank.

A senior leader of Hamas said that his movement has begun to study the Israeli response and needs several days to present further response.

(Xinhua News Agency December 28, 2009)