Abbas Hospitalized For Exhaustion And Stress
Image by getty images
JERUSALEM (JTA) — Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas was hospitalized in Ramallah on Saturday for what his spokesman called a routine medical checkup.
But doctors and Palestinian officials speaking anonymously on Sunday told media outlets that Abbas, 82, was hospitalized due to exhaustion and stress.
Abbas is overweight and a heavy smoker, though he reportedly recently switched to electronic cigarettes. He had a cardiac cauterization in October 2016 after suffering chest pains, a procedure he also had in 2008 and 2005. He had prostate surgery in the United States in 2001.
Abbas, who has been PA president for more than a decade, has not yet appointed a successor in case his health deteriorates.
Haaretz reported Sunday that the Israeli defense establishment is concerned about what it believes is the deteriorating health of Abbas, which would lead to a political changing of the guard at the PA.
Why I became the Forward’s editor-in-chief
You are surely a friend of the Forward if you’re reading this. And so it’s with excitement and awe — of all that the Forward is, was, and will be — that I introduce myself to you as the Forward’s newest editor-in-chief.
And what a time to step into the leadership of this storied Jewish institution! For 129 years, the Forward has shaped and told the American Jewish story. I’m stepping in at an intense time for Jews the world over. We urgently need the Forward’s courageous, unflinching journalism — not only as a source of reliable information, but to provide inspiration, healing and hope.
— Alyssa Katz, editor-in-chief
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
