Palestine's hospitalised leader to be discharged within 2 days

Palestine's 82-year-old president will be discharged from hospital on Friday, a doctor treating the leader has announced.

Yasser Abu Safiyeh at Ramallah's al-Itishari hospital said Mahmoud Abbas was recovering from a bout of pneumonia, calming rumours that his condition was more serious than reported.

"[Abbas] is recovering and the medical team has decided that once we are sure everything is in order, within two days, he can leave," a doctor treating the leader told reporters, according to Reuters.

Abbas was photographed walking around his hospital ward and reading a newspaper on Monday.

He was admitted to hospital on Sunday with a high fever, a week after he underwent what was called minor ear surgery.

His health is the subject of regular speculation, with no clear successor identified.

Abbas, who is a heavy smoker and overweight, has a long history of health issues, ranging from heart trouble to a bout with prostate cancer a decade ago.

Two years ago, he underwent an emergency heart procedure after suffering exhaustion and chest pains.

Abbas, who insists he is fine, has refused to designate a successor.

But after more than a decade of avoiding discussion of the post-Abbas era, Palestinian officials acknowledge that they are concerned, and potential successors are quietly jockeying for position.

Abbas took over as a caretaker leader following the death of Yasser Arafat in 2004, in what was supposed to be a five-year term.

He has remained in control since then, governing the West Bank, while a political split with rival Hamas has prevented new elections.

Abbas is favoured by the West, but most Palestinians oppose his leadership.

A September poll by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research found 67 percent want him to resign, with the figure rising to 80 per cent in the Gaza Strip.