Abu Mujahed, the spokesman for a terror group called "the Popular Resistance Committees," warned Thursday that there would be no negotiations on captured Cpl. Gilad Shalit's fate until "the Israeli escalation" in Gaza ceases.

However, "senior Palestinian officials" told Lebanon's "Al-Akhbar" newspaper that the negotiations over Shalit are in the "final stretch" and that Defense Minister Ehud Barak's upcoming trip to Cairo could seal the deal.

The source claims Israel will release 1,120 convicted terrorists in a first batch; 33 leaders from Hamas and Islamic Jihad in a second wave and others in a third. Shalit will be freed a week after the first batch of terrorists is released.