Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas left hospital on Monday after eight days of treatment for pneumonia that led to intense speculation over the 83-year-old's condition and who will eventually replace him.

Dressed in a suit as usual and walking without assistance, Abbas gave a short statement on being discharged, saying he planned to be back at work in his office as normal on Tuesday.

"Thanks to God, I left the hospital today in good health and return to work starting tomorrow," he said, speaking vigorously and with his two sons by his side.

He thanked all international leaders who had called about his health and wished him well.

The hospital stint came at a time of heightened US pressure on Abbas and the Palestinian Authority.

Some analysts said Abbas would now seek to refocus on work and downplay talk of stepping down. He is expected to preside over a meeting of the central council of his Fatah party on Tuesday.

Known to be a heavy smoker, Abbas was admitted on May 20 to the Istishari Arab Hospital near Ramallah in the occupied West Bank with complications following an ear operation, including high fever.

Officials have since said he was being treated for pneumonia.

His extended hospitalisation led to widespread speculation over whether his condition was worse than the details being disclosed.

No successor is publicly in line for the Palestinian presidency, which has added to concerns over Abbas's health.

Abbas won a four-year term as president in 2005, but he has since remained in office without further elections.

He argues the split between his Fatah party and Islamist movement Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, has made elections politically impossible.

A moderate, Abbas has been involved in decades of negotiations with Israel but is unpopular among Palestinians, with the majority wanting him to step down.

Many Palestinians see his approach to negotiations as having failed to end the Israeli occupation and are no where near the goal of securing statehood.

Israeli officials, while criticising what they see as his intransigence, greatly value the security coordination which his administration has provided.

Abbas succeeded Yasser Arafat, the charismatic keffiyeh-wearing leader who was revered by Palestinians.

Though Abbas has been valued by the international community due to his belief in negotiations and stated opposition to violence, he has struggled to meet Palestinians' expectations left behind by Arafat.

In recent months, Abbas has faced what the Palestinians see as the blatant bias of US President Donald Trump's administration.

Abbas froze all ties with the White House over Trump's decision to recognise Jerusalem as Israel's capital

The United States has also frozen tens of millions of dollars in aid to the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees and has threatened to close the office of the Palestine Liberation Organisation in Washington.

Abbas has sharpened his rhetoric against US officials.

In a recent speech, he called US ambassador to Israel David Friedman, who has been a supporter of Israeli settlements in the West Bank, a "son of a dog".

Abbas made reference to Trump's Jerusalem declaration when leaving the hospital, suggesting it had weighed heavily on him.

"If the issue of Jerusalem brought us to the hospital, we wanted to get out of the hospital to make Jerusalem the capital of Palestine," he said.

Israel sees the entire disputed city as its capital, while the Palestinians want the annexed eastern sector as the capital of their future state.

Nour Odeh, a political analyst based in Ramallah, said the president would seek to use the Fatah central council meeting to refocus on the opposition to Israeli and US policy.

"I don't doubt that the recent events will have an impact -- the president is not young," she said, adding he seemed to have been suffering from fatigue in the weeks before his hospitalisation.

Diana Buttu, a former Abbas aide who became a fierce critic, said Abbas would seek to quash all talk of succession.

"He is going to pretend this whole thing didn't happen. It will be business as usual, as though an 83-year-old didn't have serious pneumonia," she told AFP.

"Other politicians know that if they talk about succession they will be out."</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>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 all over the world for checking in on him while he was in hospital.

"Thank God I'm discharged from the hospital today with good 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 I entered the hospital for Jerusalem, 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 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.

He 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 United States. 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, 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 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 that was going on at the time and pursued peace talks with the Israelis in hopes of establishing an independent Palestinian state.

But talks 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 repeated attempts have failed to advance Palestinian reconciliation.</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>Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas left hospital on Monday following eight days of treatment for pneumonia and pledged to return to work.

The 83-year-old, dressed in a suit as usual and walking without assistance, gave a short statement on being discharged, saying he planned to be back at work in his office as normal on Tuesday.

“Thanks to God, I left the hospital today in good health and return to work starting tomorrow,” he said, speaking vigorously and with his two sons by his side.

“I thank the leaders, kings, politicians, presidents, brothers — Arab and non-Arab — who have kindly asked about me, and I am thankful to all.”

Abbas, known to be a heavy smoker, was admitted on May 20 to the Istishari Arab Hospital near Ramallah in the occupied West Bank with complications following an ear operation, including high fever.

Officials have since said he was being treated for pneumonia.

His extended hospitalisation led to widespread speculation over whether his condition was worse than the details being disclosed.

No successor is publicly in line for the Palestinian presidency, which has added to concerns over Abbas’s health.

Abbas won a four-year term as president in 2005, but he has since remained in office without further elections.

He argues the split between his Fatah party and Islamist movement Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, has made elections politically impossible.

A moderate, Abbas has been involved in decades of negotiations with Israel but is unpopular among Palestinians, with the majority wanting him to step down.

Many Palestinians see his approach to negotiations as having failed to end the Israeli occupation and come anywhere near reaching the goal of statehood.

Israeli officials, while criticising what they see as his intransigence, greatly value the security coordination with them Abbas’s administration has provided.

Some analysts say an interim arrangement would be the most likely course of action after Abbas’s death to prevent a lengthy succession battle.

That could mean putting different people in charge of the Palestine Liberation Organisation, Fatah and the Palestinian Authority. Abbas is currently head of all three.

Abbas succeeded Yasser Arafat, the keffiyeh-wearing leader who was charismatic and revered by Palestinians.

Though Abbas has been valued by the international community due to his belief in negotiations and stated opposition to violence, he has struggled to meet Palestinians’ expectations left behind by Arafat.

In recent months, Abbas has faced what the Palestinians see as the blatant bias of US President Donald Trump’s administration.

Abbas froze all ties with the White House over Trump’s decision to recognise Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and has increasingly sharpened his rhetoric against US officials.

In a recent speech, he called US ambassador to Israel David Friedman, who has been a supporter of Israeli settlements in the West Bank, a “son of a dog”. -AFP</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.</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, 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 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.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas leaves hospital after eight days of treatment for pneumonia.