Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has had emergency surgery to fit a pacemaker, after being taken to hospital on Saturday night.
Doctors at Sheba Medical Centre said the procedure went well and he is not in a life-threatening condition.
Mr Netanyahu’s hospitalisation comes ahead of a key vote in parliament on a contentious overhaul of the judiciary.
Protests against the reform have swept Israel, with many workers vowing to strike if the bill goes ahead.
In a video address ahead of the overnight surgery, Mr Netanyahu said he was feeling “excellent” but listening to his doctors.
There had been growing questions over his health after he was admitted to hospital last week supposedly suffering from dehydration.
The operation went smoothly “without any complications,” Prof Roy Beinart from the Sheba Medical Center said, adding that Mr Netanyahu was “not in a life-threatening condition”.
His office said Mr Netanyahu was expected to be discharged later on Sunday, but trips planned to Cyprus and Turkey would be rescheduled.
Mr Netanyahu said he should be well enough to attend parliament after the procedure. The next 48 hours are expected to see a critical vote on his government’s plans for changes to the judiciary. There have been months of protests in Israel over the reforms, which seek to limit the Supreme Court’s powers.
The vote – expected to take place on Monday – will amount to a showdown between the hard-line religious-nationalist coalition and swathes of Israeli society. Parliament began debating the highly contested bill on Sunday.
Source: bbc.com
