Report: Clinton to broker Shalit release?

JERUSALEM, July 17 (UPI) -- Two former U.S. presidents may visit the Middle East to seek the release of an Israeli soldier captured by Hamas, according to unconfirmed reports in Egypt.

The Jerusalem Post said Saturday that discussions were under way among U.S., Egyptian and Hamas officials on a plan to sent former Presidents Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton to Gaza to broker a deal that would free Gilad Shalit after more than four years in captivity.

The Post said the report first surfaced in the Egyptian newspaper Al Mesryoon and could not be independently verified.

The report came in the wake of a recent statement by Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu about the possibility of Clinton acting as a mediator in the negotiations over a potential prisoner exchange that would include Shalit.

The newspaper also said such a mission would be the highest-profile contact yet between the Obama administration and the Hamas leadership that runs Gaza.