Sara Netanyahu hospitalized with appendix infection
Prime minister’s wife taken to Jerusalem hospital after feeling unwell, admitted for likely stay of several days; no details on her condition
Sara Netanyahu, the prime minister’s wife, was hospitalized after midnight Wednesday with an appendix infection, the Prime Minister’s Office said.
After feeling unwell, she was taken to Jerusalem’s Hadassah Ein Kerem Medical Center where she was diagnosed with the infection and admitted to the hospital, likely for a stay of several days.
No further details on her condition were given.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accompanied his wife to the hospital, and through the tests, the statement said.
Netanyahu was scheduled to fly to the United Arab Emirates on Thursday for his first official trip to the Gulf country. It was not immediately clear if Sara Netanyahu’s condition would alter his travel plans.
Her hospitalization came after she had been in the news in recent days amid allegations that she had a signed legal contract with her husband that gives her sweeping control over national affairs, including allowing her to sign off on appointments of the heads of Mossad, Shin Bet and the Israeli military.
President Reuven Rivlin wished Netanyahu a “speedy recovery and good health” in a tweet Thursday.
Opposition Leader Yair Lapid also tweeted well-wishes, saying: “Feel well.”
Sara Netanyahu, 63, is a controversial figure in Israel, often portrayed as having iron-clad control over the prime minister. She has also been repeatedly accused of abusing staff at the Prime Minister’s Residence and convicted of misusing public funds as part of a plea deal in a case involving allegations she illegally procured and then misreported catering services at the Prime Minister’s Residence.
She is also a central figure in Case 1000, the corruption cases against her husband which involves suspicions Netanyahu illicitly accepted some $200,000 in gifts such as cigars and champagne from two billionaires — Hollywood-based Israeli movie mogul Arnon Milchan and Australian magnate James Packer.
The Netanyahus have repeatedly denied all the allegations against them, railing against the courts, prosecution, and media for what they term a “witch hunt.” They allege the state prosecution, police, media and opposition are framing him in an attempted political coup.
