TEHRAN, May 28 - 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.
TEHRAN, Young Journalists Club (YJC) - 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.
Abbas was hospitalized last weekend with a fever, just days after undergoing ear surgery.
Source: AP
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