New Concerns for Abbas Health as PA President is Hospitalized for Ear Infection

The frequently-recurring concerns over the health of 82-year old Mahmoud Abbas are again dominating news from the Palestinian territories after it was announced that the Palestinian Authority’s president has been hospitalized because of a severe ear infection. In addition to the official announcement, unsubstantiated rumors suggest that Abbas is also fighting pneumonia. Since the beginning of the year, Abbas has been hospitalized at least twice, including for a series of tests while in the United States and in Ramallah, also for “tests.” Rumors have been rife for some time that Abbas suffers from some form of cancer, although those suggestions have been vehemently denied and there appears to be nothing to corroborate the claim. Nevertheless, recent polling has demonstrated a clear majority of Palestinians wanting Abbas to call it a career and begin the process of finding a successor. Abbas has not named anyone to succeed him and many fear the battle to find the next PA chief will be intense.