Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas' wife, Amina, was released from Assuta Medical Center in Tel Aviv on Thursday after undergoing orthopedic surgery. "Abbas' wife came to the hospital for knee surgery. It is a surgical procedure that cannot be performed in the Palestinian health system," an Abbas associate said. "Abbas' wife's hospitalization was done in secret, with private security placed around the room and only a small number of Abbas' close associates were informed of it," he said. A hospital representative would not provide details. "We do not disclose which patients are present [at the hospital] or the procedures they underwent, so as to protect patient privacy. We cannot deny nor confirm any information about said patient," the statement said. Officials in Abbas' office in Ramallah refused to make any official statement on the surgery. Asked whether Abbas is concerned about any action taken by Islamist terrorist group Hamas in light of the Palestinian Authority's cooperation with Israel in the search for three kidnapped Israeli teens, one senior official told Israel Hayom, "It is a matter of personal privacy. When Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh's family was treated in Israel, no one gave him flak for it."
