By Aryeh Savir
TEL AVIV (TNA) – Amina Abbas, wife of Palestinian Authority Head Mahmoud Abbas, was convalescing at home after undergoing knee transplant surgery at a top Israeli hospital, Israeli media have reported.
Yediot Aharonot said that Abbas’s wife was in Assuta Hospital, considered one of the best in Israel. She had been hospitalized since last Thursday, and on Friday she underwent a leg operation. She was, according to the report, staying in a private room in the hospital’s orthopedic wing with no roommates, until her return home on Sunday. Security guards were on duty 24 hours a day, with no one except for doctors and nurses allowed to enter.
News of the hospitalization comes as Israeli forces conducted an intensive search for three abducted Israeli teens: Eyal Yifrah (19), Naftali Frankel (16) and Gilad Sha’ar (16). According to a hospital source, officials have not even listed her name on the roster of patients, instead using a pseudonym.
Former MK Michael Ben-Ari expressed sharp criticism at the “kid glove” treatment Abbas’s wife was getting at one of Israel’s top hospitals, saying: “Our pity and caring for our enemies shows how stupid we really are. While our kidnapped boys are sitting in the shadow of death, the wife of the leader of these terrorists is getting the best of care from us.”
Ben-Ari suggested keeping her in a “dark cell,” similar to the ones in which the youths were most likely being held. “It’s time for us to show the world that we, too, care about our children,” he told Israel National News.
“Prime Minister Netanyahu would never think of sending his wife to Gaza for treatment. Only the terrorist Abbas, who is responsible for the kidnappings, knows that she will get the best care from Israel,” Ben-Ari added.
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This story combines material from Tazpit News Agency and other sources. Aryeh Savir is a staff writer for the Tazpit News Agency in Israel. He may be contacted via en@tazpit.org.il