Palestinian President leaves hospital after 8-day stay

Ramallah  :   Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas left a hospital here on Monday, eight days after he was hospitalized with pneumonia and high fever.

Talking to reporters outside the Ramallah Consulting Hospital, the 82-year-old Abbas said: "I will get back to work tomorrow and thanks God and to the great hospital which is a good exemplary of our hospitals."

"If Jerusalem brought me to the hospital, now we are leaving the hospital and we want Jerusalem to be the capital of our independent Palestinian state," Abbas was quoted as saying by Xinhua news agency.

The Palestinian President, who is a heavy smoker, was admitted on May 20 for what doctors had initially said were medical tests following ear surgery. Officials later said he was being treated for pneumonia.

Abbas sent his greetings to the world leaders who were in direct contact with him "to make him feel better".