Abbas to Visit Germany, Mobilize Support for Palestine’s Full UN Membership

A Palestinian waves a national flag during clashes with Israeli forces over settlement activity in the West Bank. (Reuters)
A Palestinian waves a national flag during clashes with Israeli forces over settlement activity in the West Bank. (Reuters)
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Abbas to Visit Germany, Mobilize Support for Palestine’s Full UN Membership

A Palestinian waves a national flag during clashes with Israeli forces over settlement activity in the West Bank. (Reuters)
A Palestinian waves a national flag during clashes with Israeli forces over settlement activity in the West Bank. (Reuters)

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is seeking to mobilize international support to obtain full membership for the Palestinian state in the United Nations.

Secretary-General of the Palestine Liberation Organization’s (PLO) Executive Committee Hussein al-Sheikh said Abbas is scheduled to visit Germany in mid-August to tackle the issue.

Al-Sheikh held talks with head of the German Representative Office in Ramallah Oliver Owcza on the bilateral ties and preparations for Abbas’s trip.

Meanwhile, Fatah deputy chief Mahmoud al-Aloul said the Palestinians have countless political options to respond to Israeli crimes, including withdrawing recognition of Israel.

In remarks to Voice of Palestine radio station, Aloul deemed as “unacceptable” the recognition of Israel and upholding of existing agreements while Tel Aviv does not acknowledge Palestinian rights and the two-state solution and continues to commit crimes against Palestinians.

Aloul cited several potential measures against Israel, which Abbas froze ahead of his meeting with US President Joe Biden in Bethlehem in mid-July in the hopes of advancing the peace process, but that did not happen.

In February, the Central Council decided to suspend Palestine’s recognition of Israel until it recognizes the state of Palestine according to the June 4, 1967 borders with Jerusalem as its capital.

Discussions have intensified in recent weeks over the measures, which also including ending all PLO and Palestinian Authority agreements with Israel and suspending all forms of security coordination.

Aloul said Abbas will focus during his talks in Germany on obtaining full Palestinian membership at the UN.



One in 10 Children Screened in UNRWA Clinics are Malnourished

Palestinians wait to receive food from a charity kitchen, amid a hunger crisis, in Gaza City, July 14, 2025. REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Palestinians wait to receive food from a charity kitchen, amid a hunger crisis, in Gaza City, July 14, 2025. REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
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One in 10 Children Screened in UNRWA Clinics are Malnourished

Palestinians wait to receive food from a charity kitchen, amid a hunger crisis, in Gaza City, July 14, 2025. REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Palestinians wait to receive food from a charity kitchen, amid a hunger crisis, in Gaza City, July 14, 2025. REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa

One in 10 children screened in clinics run by the United Nations refugee agency in Gaza since 2024 has been malnourished, the agency said on Tuesday.

"Our health teams are confirming that malnutrition rates are increasing in Gaza, especially since the siege was tightened more than four months ago on the second of March," UNRWA's Director of Communications, Juliette Touma, told reporters in Geneva via a video link from Amman, Jordan.

Since January 2024, UNRWA said it had screened more than 240,000 boys and girls under the age of five in its clinics, adding that before the war, acute malnutrition was rarely seen in the Gaza Strip.

"One nurse that we spoke to told us that in the past, he only saw these cases of malnutrition in textbooks and documentaries," Reuters quoted Touma as saying.

"Medicine, nutrition supplies, hygiene material, fuel are all rapidly running out," Touma said.

On May 19, Israel lifted an 11-week aid blockade on Gaza, allowing limited UN deliveries to resume. However, UNRWA continues to be banned from bringing aid into the enclave.

Israel and the United States have accused Palestinian militant group Hamas of stealing from UN-led aid operations - which Hamas denies. They have instead set up the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, using private US security and logistics firms to transport aid to distribution hubs, which the UN has refused to work with.

On Monday, UNICEF said that last month more than 5,800 children were diagnosed with malnutrition in Gaza, including more than 1,000 children with severe, acute malnutrition. It said it was an increase for the fourth month in a row.