Netanyahu has pacemaker implanted

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had a pacemaker implanted in the early hours of Sunday morning.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks at a ceremony commemorating Zionist leader, Ze’ev Jabotinsky at Mount Herzl in Jerusalem on July 18, 2023. Photo by Yoav Dudkevitch/TPS

Doctors at the Sheba Medical Centre in Ramat Gan said the operation to place the pacemaker was successful and that they expected to discharge the 73-year-old Netanyahu later on Sunday.

The procedure comes one week after Netanyahu was hospitalised for dehydration, during which doctors implanted a heart monitor. It also comes as the Knesset is scheduled to vote on legislation restricting the ability of judges to apply the doctrine of reasonableness.

“A week ago, they put a monitoring device on me,” Netanyahu said in a statement overnight. “This device beeped tonight and said I need to get a pacemaker, and I need to do that tonight. I feel great, but I’m listening to my doctors. Until the last few minutes, I talked with my colleagues, and I hope an agreement will be reached. In any case, the doctors tell me that I’m expected to be released tomorrow afternoon and will arrive at the Knesset for the vote.”

Justice Minister Yariv Levin is serving as acting Prime Minister, and Sunday’s weekly Cabinet meeting has been postponed, the Prime Minister’s Office said. Netanyahu’s security discussions have also been cancelled, including a meeting with Israeli Defense Forces Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi. Reportedly, Halevi was going to brief the Prime Minister on military reservists refusing to serve over the judicial overhaul.

The governing coalition’s judicial reforms are deeply controversial. Other legislation advancing through the Knesset would primarily alter the way judges are appointed and removed, give the Knesset the ability to override certain High Court rulings, and change the way legal advisors are appointed to government ministries.

Supporters of the legal overhaul say they want to end years of judicial overreach, while opponents describe the proposals as anti-democratic.

Levin, the acting Prime Minister, is the initiative’s key architect.

AAP