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Last update - 16:56 06/09/2008
VIDEO / Hamas' Meshal agrees to pass Noam Shalit's letter to Gilad
By Jack Khoury, Haaretz Correspondent and Haaretz Service
Tags: Noam Shalit, Khaled Meshal 

Khaled Meshal, the Damascus-based leader of Hamas recieved a letter on Friday from Noam Shalit, the father of captured Israel Defense Forces soldier Gilad Shalit. The emir of Qatar handed over the letter to Meshal who promised to deliver the letter to Gilad, a Qatar-based newspaper reported Friday.

During a visit to Damascus, French President Nicolas Sarkozy on Thursday passed the letter from Noam Shalit to Syrian President Bashar Assad, officials from Sarkozy's office said. Assad then handed the letter over to the Qatari emir.

French daily Le Monde reported Thursday that the French president secured Assad's promise to pressure Meshal to forward the letter to the Hamas leadership in the Gaza Strip, so that it could deliver the letter to Gilad Shalit.
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Gilad Shalit has been held captive by Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip since he was abducted in a cross-border raid over two years ago.

Sarkozy landed in Damascus on Wednesday to take part in a multilateral summit with heads of state from Turkey and Qatar.

Noam Shalit declined to comment on the letter transfer in an interview with Haaretz on Thursday.

"I have ties with the French government although I would prefer not to elaborate. Regarding the report in Le Monde, I have no intention of denying or confirming the report," Shalit told Haaretz.

Last month, Noam Shalit met with French officials, and asked for Sarkozy's help in winning his son's release. Shalit asked that Sarkozy discuss his son with Assad.

The Shalit family expects Sarkozy to address the matter during his visit to Syria, since Gilad is a French citizen, and Assad shelters Hamas' political leadership in Damascus, led by Khaled Meshal.

"Assad undoubtedly holds sway over the members of the Hamas political bureau, and can help advance the stuck negotiations," said members of the campaign to free Shalit.

The prime minister of Turkey, the president of France and the emir of Qatar met on Thursday in Damascus with Assad, in a step that symbolizes an increase in Syria's power in the region and the end of the isolation that has been imposed on it.

Speaking at a press conference on the arrival of Sarkozy in Damascus on Wednesday, Assad denied that Syria was promoting a "new regional axis." However he stressed that all the participants in the summit were leading countries: France being the current president of the European Union, Syria as current chair of the Arab Summit, and Qatar as current chairman of the Gulf Cooperation Council.

One of the central issues the two presidents discussed was the Syria-Israel peace process. French sources told the Arab media outlets that the next round of talks between Syria and Israel would begin on Sunday in Turkey. Sources in Israel said this round would be critical in the formulation of a "declaration of principles" on which the parties are working, that in turn will form the basis for further talks.

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      1.   The tell tale letter 13:53  |  Natallie Durson 05/09/08
      2.   Shallit Kidnapping 14:00  |  Brod 05/09/08
      3.   1. Natalie Durson, agreed ! The only consolation is that Hamas 14:22  |  lakshmi 05/09/08
      4.   1. Natalie, Durson, more likely too that there might be some 14:23  |  lakshmi 05/09/08
      5.   # 1, NATALLIE DURSON 14:25  |  indrajaya 05/09/08
      6.   xerox the letter; deliver a copy only... 15:38  |  bashar 05/09/08
      7.   I thought Meshal had gone to Sudan 16:55  |  Mike 05/09/08
      8.   This is RIDICULOUS!!!!!!!!!!! 17:17  |  D 05/09/08
      9.   brod = what kidnapping? 19:07  |  mariapalestina 05/09/08
      10.   that`s someone to trust 20:53  |  x-ray 05/09/08
      11.   Durson wisdom has it that this is a tracking device 21:07  |  x-ray 05/09/08
      12.   1 Nattallie 21:24  |  ben 05/09/08
      13.   Why diabolical Nutallie? 21:50  |  Gregor 05/09/08
      14.   Durson ( the Gruesome) 23:37  |  THE TEACHER/INSTRUCT 05/09/08
      15.   Would anyone be offended,, 00:39  |  Adrian de Klerk 06/09/08
      16.   Tracking Device 02:49  |  Carlos 06/09/08
      17.   #8 - D, the "D" must stand for DUMB 04:07  |  Joseph L. 06/09/08
      18.   mike #7? they lied 04:53  |  manifest fantasy 06/09/08
      19.   adrian de cluck? sure why not 04:54  |  get a clue fool 06/09/08
      20.   Durson and lakshmi 08:22  |  Cipora Julianna Kohn 06/09/08
      21.   # 20 Cipora Julianna Kohn 11:09  |  THE TEACHER/INSTRUCT 06/09/08
      22.   Cipora Julianna Kohn - You are joking, right? 11:09  |  Natallie Durson 06/09/08
      23.   22 Natalie D to Cipora KJ, quite right ! No lengths to which 13:31  |  lakshmi 06/09/08
      24.   Laksmi likes the Dhimmi version of a Jew. 16:56  |  Ramius 06/09/08
      25.   Well, as one Haaretz columnist recently said: 22:39  |  Andreas 06/09/08
      26.   #21, TEACHER 23:27  |  Cipora Julianna Kohn 06/09/08
      27.   24 Ramius, the morphing is not that unexpected ! i have come to 01:41  |  lakshmi 07/09/08
      28.   Hi Cipora 01:47  |  Ramius 07/09/08
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