Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas' condition has seen a "clear improvement" after he was taken to hospital with a fever on Sunday, MK Ahmad Tibi told Israeli Army Radio on Monday.
The Israeli Joint Arab List lawmaker maintains close ties with Abbas.
The fever marked the third time in the span of a week that the 82-year-old Palestinian leader had to be hospitalized.
Tibi said Abbas could be discharged as early as Tuesday, but did not elaborate on Abbas' condition or say why he thought Abbas was expected to be released.
Abbas was hospitalized in the West Bank on Sunday, doctors and Palestinian officials said, giving conflicting accounts of the leader's condition.
Abbas underwent minor ear surgery last Tuesday but went back into Istishari Arab Hospital in Ramallah briefly on Saturday night, the official Palestinian news agency Wafa said.
He was then rushed back later on Sunday, for what doctors described only as "medical tests."
An official in Abbas' office told Israel Hayom the leader was hospitalized after suffering from chest pain and difficulty breathing.
Dr. Saed al-Sarahneh, medical director of the hospital, spoke outside the private hospital late Sunday, saying that Abbas had entered in the morning "for medical tests after the surgery he had in his middle ear. All the tests are normal and his medical condition is reassuring."
The Palestine Liberation Organization, which is headed by Abbas, said on its Twitter account that Palestinian chief negotiator Saeb Erekat had visited the leader in hospital and quoted Erekat as saying "the president is in good health."
An aide to Erekat said that Abbas had talked and joked with him, and that Abbas was expected to leave the hospital Tuesday or Wednesday.
One Palestinian official in Ramallah said Abbas had gone back in because of complications after Tuesday's ear surgery. Abbas had been running a high temperature, he said, "So doctors advised that he go back into hospital."
However, another source at Istishari Arab Hospital said the president's condition was unrelated to the ear operation.
"The president will stay in hospital until tomorrow. He is being given antibiotics to treat an inflammation in the chest," said the hospital source.
Another Palestinian official said Abbas has pneumonia, is on a respirator and is receiving antibiotics intravenously. He said Abbas is conscious and lucid.
Abbas was hospitalized in the United States for medical checks in February during a trip to address the United Nations Security Council.
The Western-backed leader became Palestinian president after the death in 2004 of his predecessor, Yasser Arafat. He pursued U.S.-led peace talks with Israel but the negotiations broke down in 2014.
He is also chairman of the executive committee of the PLO, a position to which he was re-elected unopposed on May 4.
The 83-year-old leader has endured a series of recent health scares which have revived anxiety over a potentially chaotic, and even bloody, succession battle.
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. He suffers from arterial plaque and has had stents implanted.
More recently, a cardiologist moved into the presidential compound in Ramallah to monitor the longtime leader after a mysterious hospital visit in the U.S., following Abbas' address to the United Nations Security Council in which he appeared weak.
Abbas took over as a caretaker leader following the death of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat in 2004, and was elected for what was supposed to be a five-year term the following year. He has remained in firm control since then.
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.
