Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas confirmed on Thursday that he had gone into a hospital in the United States for medical checks, saying in a television interview that the results were "positive."
A senior Palestinian official confirmed that Abbas had left the hospital in Baltimore, Maryland, after routine checks and would be returning home to the West Bank city of Ramallah on Friday.
The 82-year-old Palestinian leader flew to the United States to address the U.N. Security Council in New York on Feb. 20. He was scheduled to travel on to Venezuela, but on Thursday Palestinian officials reported that he was still in the United States and was undergoing routine medical checks in Baltimore.
In a short interview with Palestine TV from the U.S., Abbas said, "Our presence here was a suitable opportunity for us to get some medical checks. We completed the medical tests and we are out now. Thank God, all the results are positive and reassuring. This is God's blessing on us."
In October 2016, Abbas was taken to a hospital in the West Bank without prior public announcement for a cardiac work-up. According to one of his doctors, the exam showed normal results.
Abbas was named Palestinian Authority president in 2004 after the death of his predecessor, 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.
It is unusual for there to be a two-day gap in communication on Wafa about the president's affairs when he has official engagements scheduled.
