Netanyahu to undergo operation Sunday, Justice Minister to serve as Acting Prime Minister

Yariv Levin to serve in Netanyahu’s stead while the premier undergoes hernia operation in Jerusalem hospital.

By World Israel News Staff

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will be admitted to a Jerusalem hospital Sunday evening and will undergo surgery to repair a hernia, the Prime Minister’s Office announced Sunday afternoon.

According to the Prime Minister’s Office, doctors discovered that Prime Minister Netanyahu has a hernia during a routine examination Saturday night.

In consultation with his doctors, it was decided that following the end of his schedule Sunday, Prime Minister Netanyahu will be admitted to hospital for a hernia operation.

The surgery itself is slated to take place at 9:00 p.m. Sunday at Hadassah University Hospital at the Ein Kerem campus in Jerusalem, a source in the Prime Minister’s Office told The Times of Israel.

The prime minister has told doctors he feels fine, adding that the hernia has not interfered with the execution of his duties as premier, including attending Sunday’s war cabinet meeting.

Sunday’s hernia operation will be performed under general anesthesia, during which time

Deputy Prime Minister and Justice Minister Yariv Levin will serve as Acting Prime Minister.

At the beginning of the year, Netanyahu received a clean bill of health during his annual check-up.

“During the past year, [the prime minister] underwent annual routine examinations without any unusual findings,” said a letter signed by Netanyahu’s personal physician, Dr. Tzvi Berkovitz, and Prof. Alon Pikarsky, head of surgery at Jerusalem’s Hadassah Medical Center.

“The prime minister maintains a healthy lifestyle and a proper diet. The state of his health is completely normal,” added the physicians.

The 74-year-old premier underwent an emergency cardiac procedure last year, and was outfitted with a cardiac pacemaker after he lost consciousness at his private residence in Caesarea and was hospitalized.