Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was rushed to the hospital early on Sunday for an emergency procedure to implant a pacemaker, plunging the country into deeper turmoil after widespread protests overt his contentious judicial overhaul plan.
Netanyahu’s office said that he would be placed under sedation and that a top deputy, Justice Minister Yariv Levin, would stand in for him while he underwent the procedure. But in a brief video statement, Netanyahu also declared that he “feels excellent” and planned to push forward with his plan as soon as he was released. Levin is the mastermind of the overhaul.
Netanyahu’s announcement, issued well after midnight, came a week after he 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 the judicial overhaul plan.
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 a vote expected on Monday that would approve a key portion of the overhaul.