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Israel Condemns Norway's Upgrade of Palestinian Diplomatic Standing
(Ha'aretz) Barak Ravid - Israel harshly condemned Norway on Thursday for upgrading the standing of the Palestinian representation in Oslo from a "general delegation" to a "diplomatic delegation." Naor Gilon, who heads the Western Europe division at the Foreign Ministry, told the Norwegian charge d'affaires the Norwegian move is not acceptable and is a step that will harm the peace process. "If the Palestinians start thinking that they can achieve political accomplishments without negotiations with Israel, they will never renew peace talks," Gilon said. The Norwegian envoy said that in contrast to media reports, Norway has not recognized a Palestinian state based on 1967 borders and the upgrading in the standing of the Palestinian delegation in Oslo is simply a symbolic move without any practical consequences.