Palestinian President Abbas' Health Seriously Deteriorating, Report Says

Palestinian sources claimed Wednesday evening that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' health has seriously deteriorated, Israel's Channel 10 News reported.

According to the report, senior officials who visited Abbas recently in honor of the Eid al-Adha holiday were surprised to learn that he did not remember them at all. The Palestinian president only manages to work in his office for a couple of hours a day, the report said.

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The 83-year-old Abbas has suffered in recent years from different health problems and remains a heavy smoker. This past May he was hospitalized several times after he suffered from an ear infection. His hospitalizations sparked rumors about his medical conditions, which was claimed to be hidden from the public.

Last February, while he was in the U.S. in order to address the UN Security Council in New York, Abbas was hospitalized for several hours at a Baltimore hospital in order to go through medical exams.

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Five months later, Abbas was hospitalized at a Ramallah hospital to go through checkups. In both cases, his spokespeople released statements denying reports on illnesses he was allegedly suffering from, and announced that his medical state was satisfactory.