Athletes from 206 countries are now racing to finalise their last training sessions before this year’s Summer Olympics kick off in Paris on July 26, among them, eight Palestinians. Only 27 athletes have ever represented Palestine at the Olympic Games as the Palestinian Olympic Committee was not recognised by the International Olympic Committee until 1995. Majed Abu Maraheel was the first to represent Palestine in the 1996 Games in Atlanta. Almost 30 years later, Palestinians continue to struggle for recognition as Israel conducts the biggest offensive campaign over the Gaza Strip, having left …