RAMALLAH, (Palestinian Territories): Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas left for Germany on Monday for “routine medical tests”, a source in his office told AFP, weeks before the first Palestinian polls in 15 years. The 86-year-old Abbas left the presidential compound in Ramallah in the Israel-occupied West Bank via helicopter for Jordan, said the source.

He was to fly to Germany where he would meet Chancellor Angela Merkel, before returning on Thursday, the source added, requesting anonymity pending an official announcement.

But a German government spokeswoman told AFP: “We cannot confirm there will be a meeting between the chancellor and President Abbas during his stay in Germany,” where coronavirus restrictions are in place.

The official Palestinian news agency Wafa confirmed Abbas’s arrival in Jordan but made no mention of the onward trip to Germany. Palestinian legislative elections are scheduled for May 22, with a presidential vote to follow on July 31.

Abbas, elected Palestinian Authority president in the last vote in 2005 following the death of Yasser Arafat, has not declared whether he intends to run again.