Israel and Hamas have come to an "almost final" agreement on the names of a thousand security prisoners, almost half of them serving long terms, who will be released for abducted Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, according to a Gaza source cited Thursday by the Egyptian newspaper Al-Shuruk. The source said the deal was being held up by Israel's demand that a greater number of prisoners who are relatively high in the terrorist hierarchy be deported. He added that those to be released apparently do not include prisoners from Jerusalem.

The source put the timetable for the deal at two weeks. He said it should accelerate reconciliation between Hamas and Fatah, which in turn would help Israel lift its closure on Gaza.