Italy upgrades Palestine's diplomatic status   http://www.qodsna.com/NewsContent-id_36883.aspx

Italian President Giorgio Napolitano said Monday that Rome would upgrade Palestine's representation to a full diplomatic mission.During a visit to Beit-ul-lahm, Napolitano said the head of the mission would have the status of an ambassador.At a joint press conference, Fatah chief Mahmoud Abbas thanked his Italian counterpart for upgrading Palestinian diplomatic status and for Rome's commitment to a peaceful settlement in the Middle East. France, Portugal, Norway, Greece, Spain and Ireland have all elevated Palestine's diplomatic representation in their capitals.Following his meeting with Napolitano, Abbas said that 63 years after Palestinians were forced from their homes in what is now Israel, there was still an opportunity for a historic solution. But Palestinians could not return to negotiations while Israel continued to build illegal Jewish-only settlements on occupied Palestinian land, Abbas said.He said that Zionist regime deepened the occupation by building settlements on land which would be a Palestinian state in a peace agreement.