This article was originally published by the Ma'an News Agency and is republished with permission.

A Palestinian girl holds a picture of a relative held in an Israeli jail, during a rally calling for the release prisoners in Gaza City. (Maan Images)

In a speech on Monday, Ahmad Bahar, the deputy speaker of the Palestinian Legislative Council, said that an Israeli-Palestinian prisoner swap will be finalized soon.

The Hamas official was referring to the day's media frenzy over hints of a breakthrough for the release of 1,000 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for Gilad Shalit, an Israeli soldier captured in 2006.

Addressing relatives of imprisoned Palestinians gathered at the Red Cross building in Gaza City on Monday, Bahar said "the light has dawned. You will soon meet your imprisoned sons."

He added, "Our people will soon celebrate the return of Palestinians from the occupation's prisons - and on the captors' terms,"

In turn, Bahar called on factions holding Shalit not to alter their demands. "Your brothers in Hamas and in the government insist on an honorable resolution for our people."

Meanwhile, Hamas representatives were reportedly in Cairo in Monday to finalize the deal.

Israel's channel 10 television reported that Emad Al-Alami, a member of Hamas' powerful leadership in Damascus was en route to Cairo to join Mahmoud Az-Zahahr and others from Gaza. Together the officials met with the German mediator in the indirect talks, according to the report.

In another possible sign progress in the talks, sources told Ma'an that the head of the Palestinian Authority's civil affairs department visited Fatah leader Marwan Barghouthi in his Israeli prison cell.

Multiple sources also reported that the Israel Prison Service began gathering detainees in three prisons: Ar-Ramla, Hadarim and Beersheba, which was said to be another possible sign that a deal was closer.

The website of the Hamas-affiliated publication Ar-Risala reported that there had been progress in the talks, and that the German-mediated negotiations now hinged on Israel's refusal to release just one prisoner.

But Noam Shalit, the captured soldier's father, said Sunday that his family had received no official word on the swap. He was scheduled to meet in Tel Aviv with Hagai Hadas, Israel's negotiator, on Monday before speaking with Israeli cabinet ministers, although Israeli media quoted a government source saying the meeting was previously scheduled.

On Sunday, the Dubai-based broadcaster Al-Arabiya reported that Israel may release some 1,000 prisoners in exchange for Shalit. Marwan Barghouthi is among those slated for release, according to the network, which said the captured soldier would be transferred into Israeli custody via Egypt.

Israeli President Shimon Peres commented on the rumored deal following a meeting with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in Cairo the same day. He said progress had been made, but "the details must be kept behind the scenes."

The American network Fox News reported later on Sunday that Palestinian negotiators had sent a list of 70 names that met Israel's criteria for release, replacing another 70 that Israel said it would inevitably veto.

On Monday, the Hebrew-language newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth reported that three fathers of Israeli children killed in an attack on a civilian bus were planning to petition the country's High Court to force a disclosure of the purported list of prisoners slated to be released. According to the newspaper, Haim Meir Drukman, a religious Zionist leader, has joined their cause.

"The lack of knowledge and the lack of time due to the censorship are causing us great suffering and a feeling of contempt towards the moves taken and the punishments imposed by the legal system on the murderers of our children and the collaborators responsible for our children's murder," they reportedly told the newspaper.

Shalit was captured in a cross-border raid in 2006, and has been held ever since. His captors have negotiated indirectly with Israel in an effort to free some of the estimated 10,000 Palestinians in Israeli jails. The majority of these detainees are held in violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention in prisons inside Israel, according to Palestinian, international, and Israeli human rights organizations.

On the other hand, the same rights groups say Shalit's detention violates the Third Geneva Convention, because the Red Cross has never been allowed to visit. South African justice Richard Goldstone's report on the Gaza war said Shalit meets the requirements for prisoner-of-war status under the convention. As such, he should be allowed external communication, Goldstone's team concluded.

Shalit's captors counter that such information would compromise his location, facilitate an Israeli rescue attempt and thus negate efforts to free Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.