Israeli Prime Minister says he feels “great” and expects to be released in time for a key vote on his justice changes.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been hospitalized for an emergency hospitalization to get a pacemaker ahead of a key parliamentary vote on his controversial judicial reform plan.
In a video statement early Sunday, Netanyahu said he was fitted with a monitoring device after being briefly hospitalized last week because his office said he was suffering from dehydration.
The 73-year-old leader said an alarm beeped on the device on Saturday night, meaning he needed a pacemaker immediately.
“I feel great, but I have to listen to my doctors,” he said.
A pacemaker is used when a patient’s heart is beating too slowly. Sending electrical impulses to the heart increases a person’s heartbeat or keeps it at a normal rhythm, allowing the heart to pump blood around the body at a normal rate.
Netanyahu, who stood and smiled in the video, said his doctors had assured him he would be discharged from hospital by Sunday afternoon.
In a separate statement, Netanyahu’s office said the Israeli leader was being placed on tranquilizers. A top MP, Justice Minister Jariv Lewin, was to stand in for him.
The prime minister will undergo the procedure at Sheba Medical Center in Tel HaShomer, the statement said.
The announcement came as hundreds of thousands of protesters took to the streets in Tel Aviv and other cities for the 29th straight week, urging the Israeli government to put its justice plan on hold.
Netanyahu said in the video that he would be discharged from the hospital in time for the expected vote on his reform, which is due to start in Parliament on Sunday and last throughout Monday.
At the same time, he hinted that last-minute agreements could be reached with his opponents.
Critics fear the judiciary changes are aimed at curbing the court’s independence from Netanyahu, who is on trial over corruption he denies.
Netanyahu, who is in his sixth record tenure as prime minister, says the reforms will balance the branches of government.
The turmoil has added to tensions in relations with the United States, as has rising Israeli-Palestinian violence and advances in Iran’s nuclear program.
Washington has urged Netanyahu to seek comprehensive agreements on any judicial reforms.