Sources in the Israeli Mossad participating in the negotiations said that there is great hope for reaching a deal to return the Israeli prisoners from the Gaza Strip.

Israeli Channel 13 reported that “Israel believes that the opportunity is now golden to reach an agreement, and that the security authorities recommend that the political leadership seize it.”

It added that the Israeli army informed the political level that the fighting against Hamas will continue for years and that Israel may lose prisoners during this time.

In the same context, the Director of the American Central Intelligence Agency, William Burns, will visit the Qatari capital, Doha, next week, to participate in talks on the prisoner deal and the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

An American report, quoting Israeli sources, stated on Saturday that the meeting will also be attended by the Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani, the head of the Israeli Intelligence Service (Mossad) David Barnea, and the head of the Egyptian General Intelligence Service, Abbas Kamel.

The report added that Israeli and American officials are more optimistic than before that recent discussions with leaders of the Palestinian Hamas movement can lead to an agreement.

The main problematic issue is Hamas’s demand that the United States, Egypt and Qatar provide written commitments that negotiations on the second phase of the deal will continue indefinitely, while the first phase of the deal is underway, according to the report.

However, Israel believes that this issue can and should be resolved to move on to detailed negotiations on implementing the agreement.

Hamas is believed to be holding about 120 Israeli prisoners, including 40 who are presumed dead.