Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu will undergo emergency surgery to fit a pacemaker, his office said in a statement early Sunday, July 23, just days after he was discharged from hospital with a medical condition.
“Prime Minister Netanyahu will undergo a pacemaker implantation procedure tonight at Sheba Medical Center in Tel Hashomer,” the statement said. “The proceedings will take place under sedation, and the Minister of Justice and Deputy Prime Minister Yariv Levin will replace him during this time,” the document adds.
In a brief video statement released at midnight, the Prime Minister announced that he had been fitted with a monitoring device after being briefly hospitalized last week. He said an alarm from the device sounded on Saturday evening, which meant he needed a pacemaker immediately. “I feel great, but I listen to my doctors,” he said.
Continuation of the reform of the judicial system
However, he pledged to continue his controversial plan to reform the judicial system as tens of thousands of Israelis took to the streets on Saturday to reiterate their opposition to this text which is to limit the powers of the Supreme Court.
The prime minister said he planned to be discharged from hospital on Sunday and go to the Knesset (Israeli parliament), ahead of the expected vote on the reform. He said he hoped for an agreement with his opponents.
A week ago, Mr Netanyahu, 73, left the same medical center after being hospitalized overnight with dizziness. A pacemaker is used when a patient’s heart beats too slowly, which can cause fainting. It can also be used to treat heart failure. By sending electrical impulses to the heart, the device increases or maintains a person’s heart rate at a normal level, allowing the heart to pump blood through the body at a normal rate.
