The Hamas governmentannounced Wednesday that Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit wasbeing held in good conditions, treated well and receiving medical attention.
Hamas' statement stressed that a government committee probe determined that Shalit's captors are holding him under proper conditions in accordance with the Geneva Convention on prisoners of war.
The repot alleges that France may also try to lend its influence in order to overcome past differences between the sides, which have so far stalled the talks.
Shalit is a French national, as well as Israeli, and French President Nicolas Sarkozy has met with his parents several times since his abduction.
The matter of the captive soldier was also part of Defense Minister Ehud Barak's meetingwith high-ranking Cairo official, including Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in Sharm el-Sheik, earlier Wednesday.
Shalit's parents, Noam and Aviva, met with Barak and Hagai Hadas, the government's emissary heading negotiation efforts on behalf of their son, earlier this week, and were briefed on the status of the prisoner exchange negotiations.
Gilad Shalit has been in Hamas captivity for 1,312 days