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Palestinian President to Hold Talks with Egypt’s Sisi on Israel Next Week

This handout picture provided by the Palestinian Authority's press office (PPO) shows Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas writing his digital signature during his biometric passport registration at the Ministry of Interior in Ramallah in the occupied West Bank on September 1, 2022. (PPO / AFP)
This handout picture provided by the Palestinian Authority's press office (PPO) shows Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas writing his digital signature during his biometric passport registration at the Ministry of Interior in Ramallah in the occupied West Bank on September 1, 2022. (PPO / AFP)
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Palestinian President to Hold Talks with Egypt’s Sisi on Israel Next Week

This handout picture provided by the Palestinian Authority's press office (PPO) shows Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas writing his digital signature during his biometric passport registration at the Ministry of Interior in Ramallah in the occupied West Bank on September 1, 2022. (PPO / AFP)
This handout picture provided by the Palestinian Authority's press office (PPO) shows Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas writing his digital signature during his biometric passport registration at the Ministry of Interior in Ramallah in the occupied West Bank on September 1, 2022. (PPO / AFP)

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will hold a summit with his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in Cairo next week to discuss Palestine’s request to obtain full UN membership and its efforts to achieve calm in the Palestinian territories, specifically in the West Bank.

They will also tackle the future of the Palestinian Authority and the political process to achieve peace.

Palestinian Foreign Minister Riad Al-Malki said on Thursday Abbas will hold the summit with Sisi on September 6.

“The Palestinian President will discuss with his Egyptian counterpart the overall situation in the Palestinian territories,” Al-Malki said.

Abbas’ meeting with Sisi comes in light of a US drive in the region aimed at convincing the Authority to stop its efforts to obtain UN full membership and to advance calm in the West Bank.

Well-informed Palestinian sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that Abbas wants to consult with Sisi regarding these two issues, given Egypt’s direct role in the efforts to advance a political process in the region and achieve calm in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

Sisi had last month spoken with Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid and requested that he work with Abbas to ease tensions in the region and take immediate steps to improve living conditions in the West Bank and economic ties with the PA.

Sources said the Palestinians and Egyptians are in agreement on supporting the PA and easing tensions in the West Bank.

These two factors are key to paving the way for reviving settlement efforts and a new peace process.

The situation in the area will be on the agenda of US Assistant Secretary for Near Eastern Affairs Barbara A. Leaf, who arrived in the region on Thursday.

She kicked off an official visit that will take her to Jordan, Palestine and Israel. She will conclude the trip on September 4.

The US State Department said Leaf will be in Israel and the West Bank from September 1 to 3.

“She will meet with Israeli and Palestinian officials to discuss a range of priorities, including the US ironclad commitment to Israel’s security, strengthening US cooperation with Israel and the Palestinian Authority, US interest in improving the quality of life for the Palestinian people, and the Administration’s continued support for a two-state solution,” it added.

Observers said Leaf will inform the Palestinians of Washington’s rejection of their move towards full UN membership.

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Arab World

Germany Moves Troops Out of Iraq, Citing Mideast 'Tensions'

FILE PHOTO: German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen visits the Transport Helicopter Regiment 30 (Transporthubschrauberregiment 30) at the Hermann-Koehl-Kaserne in Niederstetten, Germany, August 20, 2018. REUTERS/Ralph Orlowski
FILE PHOTO: German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen visits the Transport Helicopter Regiment 30 (Transporthubschrauberregiment 30) at the Hermann-Koehl-Kaserne in Niederstetten, Germany, August 20, 2018. REUTERS/Ralph Orlowski
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Germany Moves Troops Out of Iraq, Citing Mideast 'Tensions'

FILE PHOTO: German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen visits the Transport Helicopter Regiment 30 (Transporthubschrauberregiment 30) at the Hermann-Koehl-Kaserne in Niederstetten, Germany, August 20, 2018. REUTERS/Ralph Orlowski
FILE PHOTO: German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen visits the Transport Helicopter Regiment 30 (Transporthubschrauberregiment 30) at the Hermann-Koehl-Kaserne in Niederstetten, Germany, August 20, 2018. REUTERS/Ralph Orlowski

Germany's military has "temporarily" moved some troops out of Erbil in northern Iraq because of "escalating tensions in the Middle East," a German defense ministry spokesman told AFP on Thursday.

Dozens of German soldiers had been relocated away from the base in Erbil, capital of Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region.

"Only the personnel necessary to maintain the operational capability of the camp in Erbil remain on site," the spokesman said.

The spokesman did not specify the source of the tensions, but US President Donald Trump has ordered a major build-up of US warships, aircraft and other weaponry in the region and threatened action against Iran.

German troops are deployed to Erbil as part of an international mission to train local Iraqi forces.

The spokesman said the German redeployment away from Erbil was "closely coordinated with our multinational partners".

Arab World

UN: At Least 15 Children Killed in Sudan Drone Strike

The war in Sudan, ongoing since mid-April 2023, has caused extensive destruction across the country (AFP)
The war in Sudan, ongoing since mid-April 2023, has caused extensive destruction across the country (AFP)
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UN: At Least 15 Children Killed in Sudan Drone Strike

The war in Sudan, ongoing since mid-April 2023, has caused extensive destruction across the country (AFP)
The war in Sudan, ongoing since mid-April 2023, has caused extensive destruction across the country (AFP)

A drone strike on a displacement camp in Sudan killed at least 15 children earlier this week, the United Nations reported late on Wednesday.

"On Monday 16 February, at least 15 children were reportedly killed and 10 wounded after a drone strike on a displacement camp in Al Sunut, West Kordofan," the UN children's agency said in a statement.

Across the Kordofan region, currently the Sudan war's fiercest battlefield, "we are seeing the same disturbing patterns from Darfur -- children killed, injured, displaced and cut off from the services they need to survive," UNICEF's Executive Director Catherine Russell said.

Arab World

MSF Will Keep Operating in Gaza 'as Long as We Can'

(FILES) A Palestinian man walks on his crutches to the Doctors Without Borders or Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) clinic, in the al-Rimal neighborhood of Gaza City on new year's Eve, December 31, 2025. (Photo by Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP)
(FILES) A Palestinian man walks on his crutches to the Doctors Without Borders or Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) clinic, in the al-Rimal neighborhood of Gaza City on new year's Eve, December 31, 2025. (Photo by Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP)
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MSF Will Keep Operating in Gaza 'as Long as We Can'

(FILES) A Palestinian man walks on his crutches to the Doctors Without Borders or Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) clinic, in the al-Rimal neighborhood of Gaza City on new year's Eve, December 31, 2025. (Photo by Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP)
(FILES) A Palestinian man walks on his crutches to the Doctors Without Borders or Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) clinic, in the al-Rimal neighborhood of Gaza City on new year's Eve, December 31, 2025. (Photo by Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP)

The head of Doctors Without Borders in the Palestinian territories told AFP the charity would continue working in Gaza for as long as possible, following an Israeli decision to end its activities there.

In early February, Israel announced it was terminating all the activities in Gaza by the medical charity, known by its French acronym MSF, after it failed to provide a list of its Palestinian staff.

MSF has slammed the move, which takes effect on March 1, as a "pretext" to obstruct aid.

"For the time being, we are still working in Gaza, and we plan to keep running our operations as long as we can," Filipe Ribeiro told AFP in Amman, but said operations were already facing challenges.

"Since the beginning of January, we are not anymore in the capacity to get international staff inside Gaza. The Israeli authorities actually denied any entry to Gaza, but also to the West Bank," he said.

Ribeiro added that MSF's ability to bring medical supplies into Gaza had also been impacted.

"They're not allowed for now, but we have some stocks in our pharmacies that will allow us to keep running operations for the time being," he said.

"We do have teams in Gaza that are still working, both national and international, and we have stocks."

In December, Israel announced it would prevent 37 aid organizations, including MSF, from working in Gaza from March 1 for failing to submit detailed information about their Palestinian employees, drawing widespread condemnation from NGOs and the United Nations.

It had alleged that two MSF employees had links with Palestinian militant groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad, which the medical charity has repeatedly and vehemently denied.

MSF says it did not provide the names of its Palestinian staff because Israeli authorities offered no assurances regarding their safety.

Ribeiro warned of the massive impact the termination of MSF's operations would have for healthcare in war-shattered Gaza.

"MSF is one of the biggest actors when it comes to the health provision in Gaza and the West Bank, and if we are obliged to leave, then we will create a huge void in Gaza," he said.

The charity says it currently provides at least 20 percent of hospital beds in the territory and operates around 20 health centers.

In 2025 alone, it carried out more than 800,000 medical consultations, treated more than 100,000 trauma cases and assisted more than 10,000 infant deliveries.