Reports reaching the desk of Africa Today News, New York has it that ahead of a key parliamentary vote on his controversial judicial overhaul plan, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was on Saturday hospitalised for an emergency procedure to receive a pacemaker.
Netanyahu’s office said on Sunday that the 73-year-old leader would be placed under sedation and that a top deputy, Justice Minister Yariv Levin, would stand in for him.
In a brief video statement, Netanyahu also declared that he “feels great” and planned to push forward with his plan as soon as he was released.
The announcement, issued well after midnight, came a week after Netanyahu was hospitalised for what was described as dehydration.
It also came after a tumultuous day that saw some of the largest protests to date against his judicial changes.
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Hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets across Israel on Saturday night, while thousands marched into Jerusalem and camped out near the Knesset, or parliament, ahead of the final vote over the key “reasonability” clause through which judges can strike down government decisions.
The Israeli prime minister’s office said Netanyahu will undergo the emergency procedure at Sheba Medical Center in Tel HaShomer.
He had been hospitalised there overnight on July 15 for what he said was dehydration from holidaying at the Sea of Galilee without properly protecting himself from a heatwave.
His return to Sheba for the pacemaker procedure indicated his health troubles were more serious than initially indicated.
In the video, Netanyahu said that he was outfitted with a monitor after last week’s hospitalisation and that when an alarm beeped late on Saturday, it meant he required a pacemaker right away.
“I feel great, but I need to listen to my doctors,” he said.
A pacemaker is used when a patient’s heart is beating too slowly. It can also be used to treat heart failure.
By sending electrical pulses to the heart, the device increases or maintains a person’s heartbeat at a normal rhythm, allowing the heart to pump blood to the body at a normal rate.
Netanyahu said his doctors have assured him that he will be discharged from hospital in time for the expected vote on his overhaul, scheduled to start at parliament on Sunday and last throughout Monday.
At the same time, he suggested that last-minute agreements could be reached with his opponents.
Critics fear the judicial changes aim to curb court independence by Netanyahu, who is on trial for corruption which he denies. But the Israeli leader, who is in his record sixth term as prime minister, says the reforms would balance out branches of government.
The furore has contributed to strains in relations with the United States, as have surging Israeli-Palestinian violence and progress in Iran’s nuclear programme.
Washington has urged Netanyahu to seek broad agreements over any judicial reforms.