Palestinians dismiss rumors of Abbas ill health
PA president's spokesman rejects 'baseless' social media claims that he had a stroke
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas is in “very good health,” his spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeineh said Saturday, denouncing “baseless” rumors to the contrary on social networks.
The rumors claimed that Abbas, 80, suffered a stroke on Friday evening, and was flown by helicopter to Jordan for emergency medical treatment.
Contacted by The Times of Israel Sunday, Abbas’s office in Ramallah would not comment on his current location, but said that he was “in good health.”
The Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) also declined to comment on his whereabouts.
Rumors of a similar nature were spread when Abbas visited Cairo in November. Abbas subsequently told The Times of Israel that he met with Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi earlier in the day and that the meetings “went well” and were “positive.”
Abbas’s presidential term formally ended in 2009, but has continued for lack of elections because of intra-Palestinian divisions between his Fatah party and the Islamist Hamas holding Gaza. His successor as head of the PLO and Fatah is also a matter of much speculation.
AFP contributed to this report.