According to reports from France, French President Nicolas Sarkozy has been working to actualize a deal that would result in the release of captive IDF soldier Gilad Shalit, who also holds French citizenship, the daily Yisrael HaYom reports.

Mr. Noam Shalit, Gilad’s father, has been maintaining a dialogue with French leaders, with whom he has met on a number of occasions, seeking to enlist their support in his struggle to obtain his son’s release.

Next month, Gilad will mark his fourth anniversary in Hamas captivity. He was taken captive in a cross-border terrorist attack in the Kerem Shalom area of the border in June 2006.

According to the report, Hamas sources in Gaza confirm that of late, messages from Sarkozy have been sent to Hamas leaders in Damascus and Gaza, seeking to enter the negotiations with Germany and Egypt towards obtaining Shalit’s release.

(Yechiel Spira – YWN Israel)