Palestinian President Abbas Leaves Hospital after Heart Test

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas was hospitalized on Thursday for a heart test and later discharged, with the 81-year-old's health reported to be normal, officials said.

"We have carried out all necessary tests, including a cardiac catheterization, and the results are all normal," Said Sarahneh, director of the Istishari Hospital in the West Bank city of Ramallah, told AFP.

Catheterization involves the insertion of a thin tube into blood vessels.

Abbas was later seen leaving the hospital and thanked waiting reporters. "I am leaving hospital and I am well," he said.

Palestine Liberation Organization secretary general Saeb Erekat said the test confirmed that Abbas was in good health.

The longtime Palestinian leader last week attended the funeral of Israeli ex-president and Nobel Peace Prize winner Shimon Peres.

Abbas had negotiated with Peres, who died at 93, and signed the Oslo peace accords of the 1990s along with him.

There has been no Palestinian presidential election since 2005, and Abbas has remained in office despite the expiry of his term.

He has not spoken publicly of a preferred successor.