Palestinian President Hospitalized 3 Times in 1 Week
In less than a week, 82-year-old Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas was hospitalized for the third time – on Sunday, May 20, at al-Istishari hospital in the West Bank.
Due to health issues, Mr. Abbas was unable to attend the summit of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Turkey on Friday, which discussed the US opening an embassy in Jerusalem. Photo: Reuters
Al Jazeera reported that Palestinian authorities confirmed his hospitalization but did not disclose details about his health condition.
According to the official Palestinian news agency WAFA, on Tuesday, Mr. Abbas underwent a minor ear surgery and was discharged a few hours later. On Friday, he returned to the hospital for a check-up because he had a fever. "The president came for a medical check-up after the ear surgery three days ago. All the tests were normal and his health condition is stable," said Dr. Saed al-Sarahneh, director of the hospital.
On Sunday, President Abbas returned to the hospital and had to stay overnight.
According to Reuters news agency, an anonymous source at al-Istishari hospital said that Mr. Abbas' condition during his third hospitalization was not related to the ear surgery.
"The president will be in the hospital until tomorrow. He has been given antibiotics to treat a pneumonia problem."
Due to health issues, Mr. Abbas was unable to attend the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) summit in Türkiye on Friday, which discussed the US opening an embassy in Jerusalem.
Mr. Abbas is a heavy smoker and has a long history of heart-related health problems and battled prostate cancer about 10 years ago.
In February, he was hospitalized in the United States for medical checks during a working trip to the United Nations Security Council.
He currently has no successor and Palestine has not held presidential elections since 2005.
