Special report: Internal situation in Palestine

    ROME, April 19 (Xinhua) -- Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will pay an official visit to Italy next week as part of a Europe tour aimed at easing international isolation of the Palestinian administration.

    Abbas will meet Italian President Giorgio Napolitano, Premier Romano Prodi and Foreign Minister Massimo D'Alema, the Italian foreign ministry said Thursday.

    It said the talks would focus on the latest "positive" meeting between Abbas and Israeli Premier Ehud Olmert as well as the prospect of the European Union switching back on its temporary aid program to the Palestinian National Authority (PNA).

    Abbas is visiting Italy and eight other European countries in a bid to get an international aid embargo lifted.

    Before the Europe tour -- which he kicked off in Paris last week -- Abbas met Olmert in the first of a series of fortnightly sessions proposed by the United States.

    Olmert said he was willing to have another look at a revived Saudi peace plan, originally proposed in 2002.

    Also on Thursday, the Italian foreign ministry said there were "encouraging signs" that a prisoner swap could be agreed with Egyptian mediation to secure the release of an Israeli soldier seized by Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip in mid-June.

    Earlier this month, D'Alema urged the new Palestinian government to officially recognize Israel.

    After April 2 talks in Rome with Palestinian Information Minister Mustafa al-Barghuti, D'Alema said it was "essential" thatthe new government move toward the full acceptance of the three principles indicated by the (Middle East) Quartet: recognizing Israel, renouncing violence and accepting existing peace accords.

    The Palestinian unity government is made up of Hamas, Abbas's Fatah movement and some independents. Sworn in last month, it replaced a year-old Hamas government.