Israel: Mr. Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli Prime Minister, will undergo an emergency procedure to receive a pacemaker, a surgery scheduled just before the Knesset, Israel’s unicameral parliament, is set to vote on a controversial judicial reform bill. According to a statement from the PM’s office, the procedure is scheduled to happen at Tel Hashomer Hospital. The Prime Minister will be sedated during the surgery.
“During the procedure, the Minister of Justice and Deputy Prime Minister Mr. Yariv Levin will take his place,” the statement added. The 73-year-old Mr. Netanyahu earlier posted on Twitter that he would be fitted with the device, which sends electrical pulses to the heart.
“I want to update you on what’s going to happen,” the Israeli PM stated in the video.
“Last week they gave me a monitoring device. The device beeped and said I need a pacemaker, and I need to do that already tonight. I feel great, but I listen to my doctors,” Mr. Netanyahu shared.
“The doctors tell me that I will be free tomorrow afternoon already. I will be discharged from the hospital ready to arrive at the Knesset for the vote,” the PM further remarked.
The Knesset is set to begin voting on a bill aimed at revoking the Supreme Court’s authority to declare government decisions “unreasonable,” thereby removing one of the few checks on the government in a nation that has no written Constitution. This controversial plan has led to widespread protests across Israel in recent weeks.
Last week, Mr. Netanyahu was hospitalised overnight for dehydration amid a heat wave in the country. Doctors said the Prime Minister was fitted with a heart monitor during his stay.