Finland's Ministry for Foreign Affairs says that it has no knowledge of the involvement of a Finnish citizen in the talks. The report was also news to crisis management officials at the Finnish Ministry of the Interior, as well as the communications department of the Ministry of Defence.
Both the Palestinian newspaper al-Ayyam, and the Saudi paper al-Watan reported that a Finnish expert was serving as a mediator between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas movement. The stories did not identify the Finn. According to the newspapers, the Finn was chosen on the basis of professional skill, and not because of Finland's current status as the holder of the European Union Presidency.
According to the reports, the Finnish expert had been involved in secret negotiations for the release of Gilad Shalit with Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal in Syria, at the request of Israel.
An Israeli web site previously speculated former Finnish President Martti Ahtisaari might be involved in such an effort. Ahtisaari's office has denied any such involvement, and Finnish Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja dismissed the report as a canard, and the Israeli Foreign Ministry also said it had no knowlege of the involvement of a Finn in mediations.