Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has been admitted to hospital in Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, a Palestinian official said, providing no further details on his condition.

It was the third time Abbas, 82, had been admitted in a week.

He underwent minor ear surgery on Tuesday and was released a few hours later and admitted to hospital briefly again on Friday, the official Palestinian news agency WAFA said.

Abbas had failed to attend the extraordinary Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) summit in Turkey on Friday, which was held to discuss the opening of the US Embassy in Jerusalem.

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

He has not designated a successor, and the Palestinians have not held presidential elections since 2005 because of the split between Abbas’ Fatah party and Hamas, which rules Gaza.