Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is released from hospital after weeklong stay

RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) — Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is released from hospital after weeklong stay. </s> RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) — Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has been discharged from a West Bank hospital after his latest health scare.

Abbas was released on Monday, more than a week after he was hospitalized for fever and pneumonia. The lengthy stay has drawn new attention to the 83-year-old Palestinian leader’s health problems and his refusal to name a deputy or a successor.

Abbas was hospitalized on May 20 with a fever, just days after undergoing ear surgery. Palestinian officials said he had pneumonia and was on a respirator, receiving antibiotics intravenously.

Abbas’ allies have insisted he is in good health, but his release was repeatedly pushed back. </s> RAMALLAH, Palestinian Territory — Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has been discharged from a West Bank hospital after his latest health scare.

Abbas was released on Monday, more than a week after he was hospitalized for fever and pneumonia. The lengthy stay has drawn new attention to the 83-year-old Palestinian leader’s health problems and his refusal to name a deputy or a successor.

Abbas was hospitalized on May 20 with a fever, just days after undergoing ear surgery. Palestinian officials said he had pneumonia and was on a respirator, receiving antibiotics intravenously.

Abbas’ allies have insisted he is in good health, but his release was repeatedly pushed back. </s> RAMALLAH, West Bank (Reuters) - Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas was released from hospital on Monday after an eight-day stay and treatment for what officials said was a lung infection.

“Thank God I am leaving the hospital in good health and I will return to work tomorrow,” the 82-year-old leader told reporters in the lobby of the hospital in the city of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank. </s> Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is being discharged from hospital, the 83-year-old’s doctor has said.

Mr Abbas was taken to hospital last week with a fever, just days after undergoing ear surgery.

Palestinian officials said he had pneumonia and was on a respirator, receiving antibiotics intravenously.

Yasser Abu Safiyeh said on Sunday that Mr Abbas was kept in a few extra days “to avoid any setback that could be caused by any infection”.

Mr Abbas, who is a heavy smoker and overweight, has a long history of health issues, ranging from heart trouble to a bout of prostate cancer a decade ago.

Two years ago, he underwent an emergency heart procedure after suffering exhaustion and chest pains.

His latest health scare revived anxiety over a potentially chaotic or even bloody succession battle as Mr Abbas currently has no deputy. </s> RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) — Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ doctor says the 83-year-old is staying in the hospital — abruptly reversing a previous announcement that he would be discharged.

Abbas was hospitalized last week with a fever, just days after undergoing ear surgery. Palestinian officials said he had pneumonia and was on a respirator, receiving antibiotics intravenously.

Yasser Abu Safiyeh initially said Sunday that Abbas would be discharged, and the media were alerted to the hospital. Then the plan was nixed with no explanation offered.

Abbas, who is a heavy smoker and overweight, has a long history of health issues, ranging from heart trouble to a bout with prostate cancer a decade ago.

Abbas has no deputy. His latest health scare and sudden hospitalization revived anxiety over a potentially chaotic or even bloody succession battle. </s> RAMALLAH, West Bank - Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas was released from the hospital on Monday after an eight-day stay and treatment for what officials said was a lung infection.



"Thank God I am leaving the hospital in good health and I will return to work tomorrow," the 82-year-old leader, dressed in a suit and smiling, told reporters before walking out of the hospital in the city of Ramallah in the West Bank.





Abbas, who is a heavy smoker, was admitted on May 20 for what doctors had initially said were medical tests following ear surgery. Officials later said he was being treated for pneumonia.Abbas, who was also hospitalized for medical checks during a trip to address the UN Security Council in February, became president after the death in 2004 of Yasser Arafat.The Western-backed president pursued US-led peace talks with Israel but these broke down in 2014 and his democratic mandate expired eight years ago.There has been no Palestinian presidential election since 2005, and the term of office is only five years. Abbas's authority is essentially limited to the West Bank, with the Islamist group Hamas in control of the Gaza Strip. </s> RAMALLAH, West Bank, May 28 (Reuters) - Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas was released from hospital on Monday after an eight-day stay and treatment for what officials said was a lung infection.

"Thank God I am leaving the hospital in good health and I will return to work tomorrow," the 82-year-old leader, dressed in a suit and smiling, told reporters before walking out of the hospital in the city of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank.

Abbas, who is a heavy smoker, was admitted on May 20 for what doctors had initially said were medical tests following ear surgery. Officials later said he was being treated for pneumonia.

Abbas, who was also hospitalised for medical checks during a trip to address the U.N. Security Council in February, became president after the death in 2004 of Yasser Arafat.

The Western-backed president pursued U.S.-led peace talks with Israel but these broke down in 2014 and his democratic mandate expired eight years ago.

There has been no presidential election since 2005 and the term of office is only five years. His authority is essentially limited to the Israeli-occupied West Bank, with the Islamist group Hamas in control of the Gaza Strip. (Reporting by Ali Sawafta and Nidal al-Mughrabi; writing by Maayan Lubell; Editing by Jeffrey Heller) </s> RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) — Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas was discharged from a West Bank hospital on Monday, ending a weeklong stay that drew new attention to the 83-year-old's long history of health problems and his refusal to name a deputy or successor.

Wearing a dark suit and speaking in a steady voice, Abbas said he would quickly return to work and thanked supporters around the world for checking in on him while he was in the hospital.

"Thank God I'm discharged from the hospital today in full health, and will return back to work from tomorrow," Abbas said.

But he hinted that the heavy work load and stress of the U.S. recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital had affected his health.

"If the Jerusalem issue put me in the hospital, I want to leave while Jerusalem is our capital," he told reporters in a brief statement.

The Palestinians strongly objected to the U.S. decision on Jerusalem, and the subsequent move of the American Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem this month. The Palestinians believe the U.S. move undercuts their claim to Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem as the capital of a future state, and Abbas has since frozen ties with the Americans.

The United States has denied prejudicing the final status of Jerusalem. But the standoff with the Palestinians has complicated U.S. plans to unveil a proposal for Mideast peace. U.S. officials have not said when the plan will be unveiled.

Abbas was hospitalized last weekend with a fever, just days after undergoing ear surgery. Palestinian officials said he had pneumonia and was on a respirator, receiving antibiotics intravenously. Abbas allies insisted he was in good health, but day after day he remained hospitalized, and on Sunday, plans to release him were abruptly pushed back.

Abbas, a longtime smoker with weight problems, has a long history of health issues, ranging from heart trouble to a bout with prostate cancer a decade ago.

Two years ago, he underwent an emergency heart procedure after suffering exhaustion and chest pains. More recently, a cardiologist moved into the presidential compound in Ramallah to monitor the longtime leader after a mysterious hospital visit in the U.S. That visit followed Abbas' address to the U.N. Security Council, in which he appeared weak.

The series of health scares have revived anxiety over a potential or even bloody succession battle.

After more than a decade of avoiding discussion of the post-Abbas era, Palestinian officials have cautiously begun to breach the matter in the open, mostly by playing down the crisis, even while potential successors are quietly jockeying for position.

"Some are using the president's illness for political gain. Shame on them," said Jibril Rajoub, a former security chief who is considered to be one of the would-be successors.

Abbas Zaki, a top official in Abbas' ruling Fatah party, dodged the question of succession, saying the Palestine Liberation Organization, an umbrella governing body, "will be in charge if the president's post is empty."

Abbas took over as a caretaker leader following the death of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat in 2004, and was elected for what was supposed to be a five-year term the following year.

A political split with Hamas — the Palestinian militant group that seized the Gaza Strip in 2007 — has prevented new elections. He has remained in office as president of the internationally recognized Palestinian Authority since then, governing parts of the West Bank.

Abbas assumed office with great hopes. Preaching a message of non-violence, he helped end a Palestinian uprising in the early 2000s and pursued peace talks with the Israelis in hopes of establishing an independent Palestinian state.

But talks quickly broke down after the election of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in 2009, and the two sides have been unable to agree on the terms of negotiations for nearly a decade.

The continued rift with Hamas has further hurt Abbas' legacy, and attempts at reconciliation among the Palestinians have repeatedly failed.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's discharge from the hospital is delayed.