ROME (EJP)---Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi has said he would ask the European Union to lift an embargo on direct aid to the Palestinians despite the decision by the military wing of Hamas to break a ceasefire with Israel.

"I cannot hide my concern over today’s breaking of the ceasefire by Hamas, which I firmly condemn and hope is only an isolated episode. It is not possible to talk about peace if missiles and bombs break the ceasefire," Prodi said Tuesday at a press conference in Rome with visiting Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

Abbas was in Rome as part of a European tour aimed at gaining support for the new Palestinian unity government and lift the embargo imposed a year ago to push the Hamas to recognize Israel and end with violence.

In a statement on Tuesday, the al-Qassam Brigades said they had fired 20 rockets and 75 mortar shells into southern Israel.

Despite Tuesday’s incident, Prodi said he had assured Abbas that the Italian government favoured the "resumption of financial aid to Palestinians" and that it would raise the issue with the European Commission.

After a meeting in Luxembourg on Monday, EU foreign ministers expressed the hope that Israeli-Palestinian negotiations would lead to "an end to the occupation that began in 1967 and the creation of an independent, democratic and viable Palestinian state, living side-by-side with Israel and its other neighbours in peace and security."

The EU is refusing to work with Hamas which it considers as a terrrorist organisation. Insteead, it has contacts with non-Hamas members of the new government.

Earlier Tuesday, the Palestinian President met Pope Benedict XVI.

In a statement, the Vatican’s press office said the 12-minute private audience at the Vatican focused on the situation in the Middle East.

"In particular an appreciation was expressed for the relaunch, also thanks to the efforts of the international community, of the peace process between Israelis and Palestinians," the statement said.

Benedict XVI also discussed the "difficulty faced by Catholics" in the Palestinian territories and "the value of their contribution to that society," it added.