JERUSALEM — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was rushed to the hospital early 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 hospitalized 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 Monday that would approve a key portion of the overhaul.
Further ratcheting up the pressure on the Israeli leader, over 100 retired security chiefs came out in favor of the growing ranks of military reservists who say they will stop reporting for duty if the plan is passed.
Netanyahu and his far-right allies announced the overhaul plan in January, days after taking office.
They claim 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 the path toward authoritarian rule.
U.S. President Joe Biden has urged Netanyahu to halt the plan and seek a broad consensus.
Netanyahu, 73, keeps a busy schedule and his office says he is in good health. But over the years, it has released few details or medical records.
On July 15, he was rushed to Israel’s Sheba Hospital with dizziness. He later said he had been out in the hot sun and had not drunk enough water.
His return to Sheba for the pacemaker procedure indicated his health troubles were more serious than initially indicated. In the video, Netanyahu said that he was outfitted with a monitor after last week’s hospitalization and that when an alarm beeped late Saturday, it meant he required a pacemaker right away.
“I feel excellent, but I listen to my doctors,” he said.
It was not immediately clear what the hospitalization meant for the judicial overhaul, which has bitterly divided the nation.
Netanyahu said he expected to be released in time to go to the Knesset for Monday’s vote.