Palestinian leader hospitalised in Jordan
(Agencies)
Updated: 2005-06-02 07:42

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas was hospitalised on Wednesday in Jordan where he underwent a heart exam and a procedure to open a constricted blood vessel, his son told Reuters.

Abbas, 70, planned to rest in hospital in Amman for another day, his son Yasser Abbas said. Officials said he had gone to hospital suffering from exhaustion and chest pains.

A doctor in touch with the Palestinian leader told Reuters he underwent a procedure to open a constricted vein, a procedure he had undergone previously in Jordan.

Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas, seen here May 2005, has undergone 'routine' heart tests in Amman, the results of which were fine and do not require hospitalisation, a Palestinian official said. [AFP]

"He is fine. He underwent this procedure. He will leave the hospital tomorrow," Abbas's son said. "He is talking to people around him. He is not hooked to any machines."

Three Palestinian officials in the West Bank and Gaza said earlier that they had contacted Abbas after the procedure and he was in good condition and out of the hospital, but later it emerged that he had not yet been released.

Abbas, also known as Abu Mazen, was elected to succeed the iconic Yasser Arafat who died in November on a platform of non-violence and called a truce with Israel in February that has sharply reduced the violence of a more than four year uprising.

The Palestinian leader had stopped over in Jordan on his way home from a May 26 meeting in Washington with President Bush, who pledged $50 million in aid to the Palestinians.

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon announced plans earlier on Wednesday to hold a second summit with Abbas on June 21. No venue has yet been given for the talks. The two last met on Feb. 8 in Egypt.

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