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Carla Bruni
Photo: MCT
Alain Juppe
Photo: Gil Yohanan
Noam Shalit
Photo: Ohad Zweingeberg

Carla Bruni: France doing everything for Shalit

In letter to Sara Netanyahu, Sarkozy's wife expresses hope Gilad's suffering will soon end

Captive soldier Gilad Shalit's parents, Noam and Aviva Shalit, met with French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe, announcing following the meeting that they received no news about progress in the effort to free their son. The statement came six hours after an Egyptian official claimed that a deal to release Shalit is about to be sealed.

 

Meanwhile, Carla Bruni responded to a letter sent to her by Sara Netanyahu and said that "France is doing everything to put an end to Shalit's suffering."

 

 

"Just like you, I hope with all my heart that the affair will soon come to an end," French President Nicolas Sarkozy's wife wrote to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's wife." The prime minister spoke with Juppe about Shalit recently and asked for France's continued involvement in the effort to free the captive soldier.

 

"The fact that Gilad is still in captivity is unacceptable," Juppe said following his meeting with the soldier's parents. "We are applying all the pressure we can to prompt his release."

 

'Report on Shalit deal – rumor'

Noam Shalit noted that "(Juppe) didn't come here to bring updates; he came as part of his visit to the Middle East. It was just a foreign minister's visit."

 

"We asked them to take action on several levels, it's nothing new," he said. "We have one goal: To return Gilad home."

 

He also said that "we speak with the presidential palace directly. We didn't wait for a message."

 

Earlier Thursday, Former Egyptian Ambassador to Israel Muhammad Basyuni said in an interview with the Egyptian newspaper Al-Masryoon that a deal for Shalit would be announced "within hours". He later retracted this statement.

 

Noam Shalit dismissed the report as rumors. "All of the elements denied these remarks – Egypt, Hamas, and the person who interviewed for the website," he said.

 

Prime Minister's Office responded by stating that "no breakthrough" had been made in continuing talks for Shalit's release.

 

Attila Somfalvi contributed to the report

 

 


פרסום ראשון: 06.02.11, 19:42
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