When it comes to negotiating a possible prisoner swap, "Germany will be in the front rows," Rolf Tophoven, a renowned German terrorism expert at the Institute for Terrorism Research and Security Policy in Essen, told United Press International via telephone. "We are perceived in the region as an honest broker. Hezbollah as well as Israel trust Germany."

Contrary to the United States -- deemed too pro-Israeli by Lebanon -- or France, which lacks the trust of Israel, Germany is still perceived as somewhat of a neutral force in the region.

That trust has sprung mainly from past actions: German diplomats have successfully arranged deals between the conflicting parties in the Middle East. And despite international scrutiny, Berlin never broke off its contacts with Hamas or Hezbollah.

In the 1980s, then Chancellor Helmut Kohl was asked by Israel to mediate in the quest for Ron Arad, who had been shot down over Lebanese territory. Arad, however, remains missing to this day.

In 1996, Germany's Federal Intelligence Service, or BND, brokered a deal between Syria, Iran, Hezbollah and Lebanon to hand over the dead remains of two Israeli soldiers in exchange for Muslim prisoners.

Eight years later, the BND scored another diplomatic success when German agents managed to bring Israel to release hundreds of Arab prisoners in exchange for Hezbollah handing over a kidnapped business man and the dead bodies of three missing soldiers.

The contacts established during those negotiations could come in handy now. Ernst Uhrlau, who in 2004 worked as the top intelligence official for the German government and spearheaded the negotiations with Hezbollah, now heads the BND.

Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Germany's foreign minister, in 2004 delegated the chancellor's office and thus oversaw intelligence matters; he is a handy crisis manager and over the weekend scored early successes during a trip to the region.

After he had met with Egyptian, Israeli and Palestinian officials, Steinmeier returned to Berlin with optimism packed in his luggage.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert after meeting with Steinmeier had for the first time publicly noted that he may agree to the international stability force proposed by United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan and several other leaders.

A foreign ministry spokesman said Monday the trip instilled Steinmeier with "cautious optimism."

"There are first signs that we have a diplomatic opening in the conflict," the spokesman said, adding that Steinmeier felt that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and the leadership in Egypt are to play an important role to free the Israeli soldiers.

"We are optimistic that these advances could lead to success sometime soon," the spokesman added.

Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, the Hezbollah leader, denied official communication with Germany, but told Lebanese newspaper Es Safir the "German channel remains valid" when it comes to a possible swap of the Israeli prisoners for detained Hezbollah fighters.

Another Middle East expert said Germany should state clearly what it wants from a diplomatic solution.

"Germany shouldn't take on a middleman's role without spelling out its own claims," Martin Beck, an an analyst at the Hamburg-based German Institute for Middle East Studies, Tuesday told UPI. "A prerequisite has to be a long-term deescalation of the conflict."

Steinmeier will take part in the international conference on the crisis Wednesday in Rome, where he will meet with U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who will arrive there after her own tour of the Middle East.

The conference will also include officials from Italy, Russia and several states in the Middle East.

Annan said Monday Iran and Syria need to be involved in finding a solution to the crisis, as both are deemed to have substantial influence on Hezbollah and Hamas.

Before and after his trip to the region, Steinmeier has contacted his Syrian counterpart, the spokesman said.

Over the weekend, a German diplomatic team has been in Damascus to "get an impression on location" over the Syrian readiness to defuse tensions in the conflict. The team was due to brief Steinmeier Tuesday on its findings.

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