Shalit deal in cards?

Sources in Cairo are expressing great optimism and claiming that a prisoner swap for abducted IDF soldier Gilad Shalit may be finalized by the middle of June, Palestinian newspaper al-Manar reported Saturday.

The credibility of the east Jerusalem paper's report is unclear at this time, as past reports regarding progress on the Shalit front were proven overly optimistic.

A Cairo source told the paper that new Israeli chief negotiator, David Meidan, will arrive in the Egyptian capital in the coming days and hold meetings with senior Egyptian officials regarding the swap.

According to the report, Meidan will also be meeting with the German mediator who recently discussed the Shalit affair with top Hamas figures in Cairo.

According to the source, Egypt boosted its efforts as of late in a bid to finalize a prisoner deal between Israel and Hamas. The commander of Hamas' military wing, Ahmed Jabari, was reportedly in Cairo recently and discussed the swap with Egypt's intelligence chief.

Earlier this week, Hamas Politburo Chief Khaled Mashaal said that while some progress was achieved in recent months in respect to a prisoner swap, Palestinian demands have not yet been met.