Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, was released from hospital Monday, a week after being admitted with a lung infection.
"Thank God, I am leaving the hospital in good health and I will return to work tomorrow," Abbas told reporters upon leaving Ramallah's Istishari Hospital.
Abbas was expected to be released from hospital on Sunday but doctors decided to keep him there for another day for observation, his office informed journalists in a text message.
The 82-year-old leader, who is a heavy smoker, was admitted to Istishari Hospital in Ramallah on May 20 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.
On Sunday, a Palestinian official said Abbas was holding meetings with international and Palestinian officials at his bedside.
The official Palestinian news agency Wafa ran a statement quoting hospital Director Dr. Said Sarahneh as saying test results show an improvement in Abbas' health.
"President Mahmoud Abbas' condition is showing a continuous and speedy improvement. The medical staff treating the president is monitoring his tests results on a daily basis to determine his release date from the hospital," Sarahneh said.
Abbas, who became president after the 2004 death of Yasser Arafat, has been suffering from various health issues over the past year but has no formal deputy in the Palestinian Authority.
In theory, the parliamentary speaker would take over on an interim basis if the president were to die in office. But the speaker's role is held by a Hamas representative, and Abbas' Fatah faction would likely dispute the constitutional legitimacy of his taking over.
