TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was recovering in a hospital Sunday after an emergency heart procedure, as opposition to his government’s controversial judicial review plan reached a fever pitch and unrest gripped the country.
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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was recovering in a hospital on Sunday after an emergency heart procedure
Netanyahu’s doctors said Sunday that the pacemaker implantation went well and that the 73-year-old Netanyahu felt fine.
Tensions rose as lawmakers began a marathon debate on the first major piece of the overhaul, ahead of a parliamentary vote enshrining it into law on Monday.
Mass protests continued, part of seven months of the most intense and sustained demonstrations the country has ever seen.
Netanyahu’s doctors said Sunday that the pacemaker implantation went smoothly and that Netanyahu, 73, was doing well. He was expected to be discharged during the day, according to his office. But tensions rose as lawmakers began a marathon debate on the first major piece of the overhaul, ahead of a vote in parliament to enshrine it in law on Monday.
Mass protests continued, part of seven consecutive months the most sustained and intense manifestations the country has ever seen. Hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets across Israel on Saturday night, while thousands marched to Jerusalem and camped near the Knesset, or parliament, ahead of Monday’s vote.
Netanyahu’s sudden hospitalization added another dizzying twist to an already dramatic series of events that are sure to shape Israel’s future. It comes as Israel’s longest-serving leader faces the most serious challenge to his leadership and the country’s worst internal crisis that has rocked the economy, fractured the country’s military and tested the delicate social fabric that holds the polarized country together.
Lawmakers began their debate despite the hospitalization. In a fiery opening speech, Simcha Rothman, one of the main proponents of the review, denounced the courts, saying they damaged Israel’s democratic foundations by arbitrarily overturning government decisions.
“This little clause is meant to restore democracy to the state of Israel,” Rothman said. “I call on the members of the Knesset to approve the bill.”
Still, Netanyahu’s health problems disrupted his routine. The weekly cabinet meeting scheduled for Sunday morning was postponed, and Israel Army Radio reported that a security assessment of the legal dispute’s effect on the military was also dropped from Netanyahu’s agenda. Two upcoming foreign trips, to Cyprus and Turkey, were being rescheduled, his office said.
Netanyahu’s office said he was sedated during the implantation and that a top aide, Justice Minister Yariv Levin, stood in for him while he underwent the procedure. Levin, a close confidant of the Prime Minister, is the mastermind behind the review.
In a brief video statement before the deployment, Netanyahu said he “feels great” and planned to move forward with the judicial review as soon as he was released, adding that he hoped to be released in time to go to the Knesset for Monday’s vote.
Lawmakers will vote on a review measure that would limit the Supreme Court’s oversight powers by preventing judges from overturning government decisions on the grounds that they are “unreasonable.” Monday’s vote would mark the first major piece of legislation to pass.
Advocates say the current “reasonableness” standard gives judges excessive powers over elected officials’ decision-making. Critics say removing the standard, which is invoked infrequently, would allow the government to make arbitrary decisions, make inappropriate appointments or firings and open the door to corruption.
The review also calls for other sweeping targeted changes curb the powers of the judiciaryfrom limiting the ability of the Supreme Court to challenge parliamentary decisions, to changing the way judges are selected.
Speaking in parliament, opposition leader Yair Lapid called for Netanyahu to resume compromise talks and praised protesters for standing up to the government.
“The government of Israel launched a war of attrition against the citizens of Israel and discovered that the people cannot be broken. We will not give up the future of our children,” he said.
The valley below the Knesset was dotted with silver tents, many draped with Israeli flags. Protesters staged morning marches as the parliamentary session began. A large anti-revision protest was expected in Jerusalem later Sunday, as well as a counter-protest by government supporters in Tel Aviv.
The protesters, who come from a wide swath of Israeli society, see the overhaul as a power grab fueled by personal and political grievances of Netanyahu — who is on trial on corruption charges — and his partners who want to deepen Israel’s control over the occupied West Bank and perpetuate the controversial draft exemptions for ultra-Orthodox men.
Netanyahu was rushed to the hospital in the middle of the night a week after being hospitalized for what doctors said was dehydration. He was then released after being implanted with a device to monitor his heart, but was re-hospitalized on Sunday with abnormalities, resulting in the need for a pacemaker.
Professor Roy Beinart, senior physician and director of the Davidai Arrhythmia Center at the Sheba Medical Center Heart Institute, said in a video that the prime minister needed the pacemaker because he experienced “a temporary arrhythmia,” or irregular heartbeat, on Saturday evening.
“The implantation went well, without any complications. He’s not in a life-threatening condition,” Beinart said. “He’s feeling great and is getting back to his daily routine.”
Adding to the pressure on the Israeli leader, military reservists, in growing numbers, have been declaring their refusal to serve under a government that takes measures they see as putting the country on the road to dictatorship. These moves have it led to fears that the army’s readiness could be compromised.
Among them are essential fighter pilots and ground air force personnel. About 10,000 reservists from across the military announced Saturday night that they, too, would no longer report for duty. More than 100 retired security chiefs publicly backed the growing ranks of military reservists who plan to stop reporting for duty if the review goes ahead.
“These are dangerous cracks,” military chief Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi wrote Sunday in a letter to soldiers addressing the tensions. “If we are not a strong and cohesive military, if the best do not serve the IDF, we will no longer be able to exist as a country in the region.”
Netanyahu and his far-right allies announced the overhaul plan in January, days after taking office. They say the plan is needed to curb what they say are the excessive powers of unelected judges. Critics say the plan will destroy the country’s system of checks and balances and put it on a path to authoritarian rule. US President Joe Biden has urged Netanyahu to halt the plan and seek a broad consensus.
Netanyahu halted the review in March after intense pressure from protesters and labor strikes that halted outbound flights and shut down parts of the economy. After talks to find a compromise failed, he said his government was pressing ahead with the review.
Netanyahu has a busy schedule and his office says he is in good health. But over the years, he has released few details about his well-being or medical records.
A pacemaker is used when a patient’s heart is beating too slowly, which can lead to fainting, according to the National Institutes of Health. It can also be used to treat heart failure. By sending electrical pulses to the heart, the device keeps a person’s heart beating at a normal rate. According to NIH, patients with pacemakers often return to normal activities within a few days. A hospital stay of at least one day is usually required.
