French President Hosts Father Of Israeli POW

In an unusual move, French President Nicolas Sarkozy invited Noam Shalit, the father of Israeli prisoner of war Cpl. Gilad Shalit, for a private audience in Paris yesterday. Cpl. Shalit has been in the hands of Hamas since June 2006.

In the past, Mr. Sarkozy declared several times his commitment to obtaining Cpl. Shalit’s release, who also has French citizenship.


“I often go between France and Israel, but I’m not invited personally by President Sarkozy each time,” Mr. Shalit said yesterday. “I am to be updated on the activity of the French government about Gilad, and beyond that, I will only be able to say after our meeting. I’ve had experience with this and we have to wait patiently.”

Mr. Sarkozy has been talking with the Syrians about Cpl. Shalit for some time, and through them, with Hamas Political Bureau Director Khaled Mashal.

During his visit to Israel two weeks ago, Mr. Sarkozy said, “I say that Gilad Shalit must be released not only because he is a French citizen, but because that should be done, and Israel will be willing to release prisoners so that the suffering of hundreds of Palestinian families stops.”


In the course of his last visit to Syria on Sept. 4, the French president gave Syrian President Bashar al-Assad a letter from Mr. Shalit meant for his son.


Early this month, Mr Sarkozy was again in Damascus and asked Mr. al-Assad to obtain proof that Cpl. Shalit was alive. Sources in Paris confirm that Mr. Sarkozy has made the subject of Cpl. Shalit a personal one.

All that is known about what transpired in the meeting between Mr. Shalit and the French president is that Mr. Shalit was informed that there were signs in the past month that his son is still alive.

Mr. Sarkozy, according to Israel Radio, has also been advocating for the E.U. to adopt a more lenient approach toward Hamas.

France is trying to persuade its E.U. partners to display a more flexible attitude toward Hamas and proposes talking to Hamas if it agrees to join the peace process without demanding it recognize Israel.

Paris presented this approach in a conference of E.U. foreign ministers in Brussels but a number of countries were opposed, including Holland, Italy, and central and eastern European countries. Germany, however, has not been enthusiastic about the French initiative.

David Bedein can be reached at dbedein@israelbehindthenews.com