Politics
11:58, 21-May-2018
Palestinian President hospitalized, reportedly in 'reassuring' condition
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Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas was hospitalized in the West Bank on Sunday, doctors and Palestinian officials said, giving conflicting accounts of the leader’s condition.
It is the third time Abbas, 82, has been hospitalized in less than a week. He is expected to stay at least overnight.
Abbas underwent a minor ear surgery on Tuesday but went back into al-Istishari Hospital in Ramallah briefly overnight on Sunday, the official Palestinian news agency Wafa said.
He was then rushed back later on Sunday, for what doctors described only as "medical tests". The hospital said all the tests are normal and his medical condition is "reassuring".
A Palestinian boy stands between poster of late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat during a demonstration in Gaza City in support of Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails, April 17, 2018. /VCG Photo
A Palestinian boy stands between poster of late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat during a demonstration in Gaza City in support of Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails, April 17, 2018. /VCG Photo
The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), which is headed by Abbas, said on its Twitter account that Palestinian chief negotiator Saeb Erekat had visited the leader in hospital and quoted Erekat as saying: "the President is in good health".
However, a source at al-Istishari hospital said the president's condition was unrelated to the ear operation and he was given antibiotics to treat an inflammation in the chest.
The Western-backed leader became Palestinian president after the death in 2004 of his predecessor, Yasser Arafat. He pursued US-led peace talks with Israel but the negotiations broke down in 2014.
Senior White House Adviser Ivanka Trump (L) stands next to the dedication plaque at the US embassy in Jerusalem, and (R) a wounded Palestinian demonstrator is evacuated as others take cover from Israeli fire and tear gas during a protest at the Israel-Gaza border in the southern Gaza Strip, May 14, 2018. /Reuters Photo
Senior White House Adviser Ivanka Trump (L) stands next to the dedication plaque at the US embassy in Jerusalem, and (R) a wounded Palestinian demonstrator is evacuated as others take cover from Israeli fire and tear gas during a protest at the Israel-Gaza border in the southern Gaza Strip, May 14, 2018. /Reuters Photo
Abbas' hospitalization has coincided with an escalation in Israeli-Palestinian tensions after Israeli troops shot dead dozens of Palestinian protesters on the Gaza border on May 14 as the new US Embassy opened in Jerusalem.
The Gaza Strip is controlled by Hamas, a political rival of the Fatah movement.
Source(s): Reuters