King Juan Carlos received Palestine’s representative in Spain at a ceremony equivalent to the presentation of diplomatic credentials, due to a recent decision by the Spanish government to raise his rank to that of head of a diplomatic mission.

Musa Amer Odeh has discharged since 2005 the duties of general delegate of the Palestinian National Authority in Spain.

The Spanish government decided to give Odeh ambassadorial status in the interest of affirming “the friendship and solidarity” that unite both peoples, while taking into account “the development and progressive international acceptance” of Palestinian institutions.

At the same time, Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero’s administration agreed to raise the status of Palestine’s representation in Spain while looking forward to “the establishment and recognition of the Palestinian state in a necessarily short space of time, as a consequence of the process of negotiations now resumed following the Washington summit on Sept. 2.”

Odeh’s presentation as ambassador before Juan Carlos was the first of six that took place Monday in the official chamber of the Royal Palace, where the monarch was accompanied by Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos...