Israeli PM’s Wife Hospitalized, Calling UAE Trip Into Question

Sara Netanyahu, the wife of Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, was hospitalized early Thursday morning at Hadassah Medical Center in Jerusalem with appendicitis, the Prime Minister’s Office said. The prime minister was set to fly to the United Arab Emirates on Thursday in a trip that would not only tighten the growing relationship between the two countries but was widely seen as an attempt to boost Netanyahu’s popularity ahead of the March 23 election in Israel. Now, with his wife in the hospital, the trip may not happen. Mrs. Netanyahu is expected to be hospitalized for several days. The race – the fourth parliamentary election the country has seen in less than two years – remains tight, with a number of challengers in parties on the Right and Center of the political map threatening to unseat the long-time leader of the Jewish state.