UNITED NATIONS In a related development, Mansour touted Palestinian gains in international support, including Palestine's recent election to membership in the U.N. cultural organization, UNESCO, and its recognition as a state by two-thirds of the members of the 193-nation U.N. General Assembly. He said recognition by UNESCO "means that in the U.N. system, there is no discussion any more whether the nation, Palestine, the state, Palestine ... exists or not. Now it is the fact that we do exist in the U.N. system as a state." Mansour mentioned one other option - going to the General Assembly, where there are no vetoes, to raise the Palestinians' U.N. status from a permanent observer to a nonmember observer state, like the Holy See. He predicted that if the Palestinians decide to take this option they will have strong support, including from European nations. He noted that 11 European Union members, including France and Spain, supported Palestinian membership in UNESCO along with Norway and Iceland. --SPA 11:30 LOCAL TIME 08:30 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/942686