Palestinian President leaves U.S. hospital

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has left hospital after routine checks in the United States and has been confirmed okay.

Abbas, 82, will be returning to the West Bank today after what officials described as “ordinary” checks in the U.S. city of Baltimore.

Abbas flew to the United States to address the U.N. Security Council in New York on Feb. 20. He called for an international conference to be held by mid-2018 to kick-start the stalled peace process with Israel.

He had been expected to leave the United States for Venezuela for an official visit, according to his office. That visit was scheduled to start on Feb. 21.

Palestinian officials did not disclose when Abbas went into hospital, only that he underwent the checks yesterday evening.

In October 2016, Abbas was taken to hospital in the West Bank without prior public announcement for heart function tests which, a doctor said, showed normal results.

Abbas became Palestinian president after the death in 2004 of Yasser Arafat. He pursued peace talks with Israel but the negotiations broke down in 2014.

There had been no new coverage of Abbas on the official Palestinian news agency Wafa since Feb. 20, when he met with delegations after his U.N. speech.

Retrieved from: REUTERS