RAMALLAH, Palestinian Territories: Palestinian prime minister Salam Fayyad was recovering from a procedure in hospital Tuesday after suffering heart trouble during a private US visit, his office said. Fayyad was taken to the Seton Medical Center in Austin, Texas Sunday after complaining of “severe pains in the chest,” the premier's office in Ramallah said in a statement. He underwent a cardiac catheterisation on Monday, which revealed that the “coronary artery was blocked,” the statement said, adding that a procedure was performed with a stent to unblock it. Fayyad “is doing well and should leave the hospital in the next two days,” his office said. The Seton Medical Center added that Fayyad was “in good condition.” Palestinian leaders said Tuesday on a visit to Moscow that President Barack Obama's recent Mideast speeches have been insufficient and contradictory. Azzam Al-Ahmed, the chief negotiator for the Palestinian Fatah faction, described Obama's endorsement of Israel's 1967 borders as a “positive signal, which is regrettably insufficient,” adding that subsequent statements by Obama sounded discouraging. In a speech last Thursday, Obama endorsed the Palestinian position on the borders of their future state, saying it should be based on Israel's borders before the 1967 Mideast war. Israel captured the West Bank, east Jerusalem and Gaza Strip in the fighting, and the Palestinians claim those areas for their state. At the same time, Obama reiterated his request that the Palestinians drop their plans to appeal for recognition at the U.N. this fall. Al-Ahmed said that the Palestinians believe the move is necessary to overcome a deadlock in peace talks. “We aren't planning to unilaterally declare independence,” he said.
