Palestinian President Abbas's hospital stay is extended

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who officials said is being treated for a lung infection, will remain in hospital for an eighth day on Sunday.

The 82-year-old leader had been expected to be released from hospital in the occupied West Bank on Sunday, but this was postponed, Abbas's office said in a text message to journalists.

Abbas was admitted on 20 May for what doctors had initially said were medical tests following ear surgery. He was shown on Palestinian television last week walking along a hospital corridor and sitting in an armchair reading a newspaper.

A Palestinian official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Abbas was still undergoing treatment and would not be released on Sunday, adding that he has been holding meetings with international and Palestinian officials at his bedside.

Abbas, who is a heavy smoker and overweight, has a long history of health issues, ranging from heart trouble to a bout with prostate cancer a decade ago, the Times of Israel said.

The Times also noted that a cardiologist had recently moved into the presidential compound in Ramallah to monitor the longtime leader.

The official Palestinian news agency Wafa ran a statement that quoted Istishari Hospital's medical director, Said Sarahneh, as saying test results show an improvement in his health: "President Mahmoud Abbas's condition is showing a continuous and speedy improvement," Sarahneh told Wafa.

Sarahneh said the medical staff overseeing Abbas’s health condition has not yet given a date for his discharge from hospital, but they are currently following up on his latest health checks, Wafa reported.

Abbas, who was also hospitalised 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 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.

Abbas has no formal deputy in the Palestinian Authority. In theory, the speaker of parliament would take over on an interim basis if the president were to die in office.

Still, the speaker's role is held by a Hamas representative, and Abbas’s Fatah faction would likely dispute the constitutional legitimacy of his taking over as MEE has reported.