By JPOST.COM STAFF
Noam Schalit, father of captured IDF soldier Gilad Schalit, will meet Thursday with President Nicolas Sarkozy at the Elysee Palace in Paris.
Schalit arrived in the French capital on Wednesday morning and met with several of Sarkozy's top advisers, among them diplomatic adviser Jean-David Levitte and the French president's Middle East adviser.
On Thursday, he will give interviews to leading French media outlets.
Schalit holds dual French-Israeli citizenship.
Also on Wednesday, OC Southern Command Maj.-Gen. Yoav Galant stated that "Operation Cast Lead increased the chances of securing [Schalit's] release."
At a swearing-in ceremony for Givati Brigade soldiers, Galant asserted the operation in the South had achieved its goal of creating circumstances that would enable the captured soldier's release.
The major general concluded that the IDF would "make every effort to fulfill our supreme commitment to bring back Schalit."