Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
The prime minister will likely be released from the hospital on Sunday afternoon as a judicial reform bill reaches a critical juncture.
By Lauren Marcus, World Israel News
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu underwent successful surgery early Sunday morning to receive a pacemaker and is expected to be released from a central Israel hospital later in the day ahead of a critical Knesset vote, his office announced.
The weekly Sunday morning cabinet meeting was postponed until Monday.
Last week, Netanyahu was hospitalized overnight at Sheba Medical Center in Ramat Gan for reported dehydration.
However, many speculated that the premier’s health issues, and news that he had been implanted with a Holter monitor – a device that detects cardiac issues – appeared to confirm that there were cardiological concerns associated with his hospital stay.
Shortly before the surgery to install the pacemaker, Netanyahu posted a video updating the public on his health.
“A week ago they put in a monitoring device. That device beeped this evening and said I need to receive a pacemaker,” Netanyahu said, in the clip posted at around 1 a.m. on Sunday.
“I need to do this already tonight. I’m feeling excellent, but I’m listening to my doctors.”
Netanyahu designated Justice Minister Yariv Levin to act as premier for the duration of the surgery.
Levin, who is widely considered one of the chief architects of the judicial reform legislation, is a longtime ally and confidant of the prime minister.
When Netanyahu underwent a colonoscopy in January 2023, he designated Shas party head Aryeh Deri as acting premier.
Notably, that designation occurred before a Supreme Court decision forced Netanyahu to fire Deri due to an assertion that his appointment was “unreasonable.”
A measure to end that clause, which allows the Supreme Court to intervene on government and legislative decisions it determines fall outside of the bounds of reasonability, is up for an expected Knesset vote on Monday.
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