Bethlehem - Ma'an - Jailed Palestinians were in good spirits on Monday despite what they termed "torturous" rumors of an imminent prisoner swap that reported in the media.

Responding to the reports of progress toward an exchange between Israel and the Gaza-based captors of an Israeli soldier, Chris Bandak, a Christian from Bethlehem, wrote that he and his fellow detainees "are sure the Palestinian leadership is doing everything it can [to free us]."

"Despite what is and isn't published in the media, this does not shake our confidence in ourselves and our right to liberty and to live with our families," he added.

He was referring to Monday’s media frenzy over hints of a breakthrough in negotiations between Israel and Hamas, which is seeking the release of around 1,000 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for Gilad Shalit, an Israeli soldier captured in 2006.

According to another detainee, Yousef, "The issue of prisoners is not personal, but rather a societal concern for Palestinians, affecting all classes, groups, sects and factions."

A stream of news reports fomented widespread speculation that Israel and Hamas were close to concluding a deal.

Hamas representatives were reportedly in Cairo in Monday to finalize a deal that would see the release of hundreds of Palestinian detainees.

Salah Al-Bardawil, a senior Hamas official, told the Israeli daily Haaretz that the Islamic movement hoped to wrap up an agreement to exchange captured soldier Gilad Shalit by Friday, the first day of the Muslim Eid Al-Adha holiday.

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.

The website of the Hamas-affiliated publication Ar-Risala also 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.

Speculation about a prisoner swap is not new though. Reports that a deal was imminent have surfaced multiple times since Shalit was captured. The reports raise hopes for the prisoners and their families, along with Shalit’s own family. In all past cases, this hope has turned out to be false.

On Monday dozens of prisoners said they were hesitantly hopeful an exchange agreement was in the works. Detainees contact Ma'an every day, but the recent messages expressed unusual optimism, one insisting that "our confidence in God and our natural rights is more powerful than bars."