Ramallah - Israeli officials met with Hamas prisoners over the past few days to discuss a prisoner exchange deal that would secure the release of an Israeli soldier held captive in the Gaza Strip for over 1,000 days, a Palestinian news agency reported Monday.

The Bethlehem-based Maan news agency, quoting "Hamas sources," said Israel transferred jailed Hamas representatives to Hadarim prison, north-east of Tel Aviv, where they met Ofer Dekel, the Israeli government's chief negotiator in the talks to free soldier Gilad Shalit.

Dekel and the Hamas leaders met at least three times recently, Maan added.

Shalit was snatched on June 25, 2006, during a cross-border raid militants launched from the Gaza Strip and since then has been held virtually incommunicado somewhere in the salient.

Hamas says it will release him in exchange for 1,400 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails and has insisted on selecting the names of the first 450, who include militants involved in some of Israel's worst suicide attacks.

Israel however has reservations over some of the names, and Egyptian-mediated talks on a prisoner swap broke down last week. (dpa)