Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel was rushed to the hospital early Sunday for surgery to implant a pacemaker, casting new uncertainty over his government’s deeply contentious plan to pass a law on Monday to limit judicial power.
Doctors at the Sheba Medical Center, east of Tel Aviv, said on Sunday morning that the unexpected procedure had been successful and that “the prime minister is doing very well.” But Mr. Netanyahu was expected to remain hospitalized until at least Monday, a spokesman for the hospital said.
Pacemakers are usually inserted into the chest area through a small incision and are designed to regulate a person’s heartbeat and prevent problems that could end in cardiac arrest. Small pacemakers can also be fitted without a chest incision and with a minimally invasive procedure.
The government’s weekly cabinet meeting, originally scheduled for Sunday morning, was postponed until Monday, and it was unclear whether a vote in Parliament over the judicial overhaul would proceed on Monday as planned.
Mr. Netanyahu’s surgery came amid what many consider to be Israel’s gravest domestic crisis since its founding 75 years ago.
The prime minister was hospitalized hours after an unusual surge in street protests, threats of labor strikes and warnings from thousands of military reservists that they would refuse to volunteer for military duty if the judicial overhaul goes ahead. Nevertheless, Mr. Netanyahu’s government appeared determined to press on with the plan on Sunday, even after his hospitalization.
On Sunday morning, Parliament began a debate ahead of a final vote on a bill that would prevent the Supreme Court from using the grounds of reasonableness to strike down government decisions or appointments. The debate was expected to last 26 hours.
Before the debate began, thousands of people gathered at the Western Wall, a Jewish holy site in Jerusalem’s Old City, and held a mass prayer for national unity while public figures made last-ditch efforts to persuade the government to reach some consensus over the bill with the opposition.
But the political fissure only deepened as Mr. Netanyahu’s allies declared that the legislation would be passed with or without agreement. And more large street protests — both for and against the judicial overhaul — were planned later in the day.
The turmoil has heaped pressure on Mr. Netanyahu. A group of former army chiefs, police commissioners and intelligence agency directors accused him on Saturday night of dividing the country and endangering its security by advancing the judicial overhaul plan.
Mr. Netanyahu’s government wants to limit the ways in which the Supreme Court can overrule government decisions. The prime minister has said the plan would improve democracy by giving elected lawmakers greater autonomy from unelected judges.
But opponents say it will remove a key check on government overreach in a country that lacks a formal constitution and allow Mr. Netanyahu’s…
2023-07-23 07:29:25
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