Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, will have pacemaker surgery

After huge demonstrations against his divisive judicial reform proposal, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was taken to the hospital early on Sunday for an emergency surgery to install a pacemaker, further destabilizing the nation.

According to Netanyahu’s office, he will be sedated for the treatment, and his senior deputy, Justice Minister Yariv Levin, will take his place. Netanyahu, though, added that he “feels excellent” and intended to move on with his plan as soon as he was freed in a short video message. The redesign is the brainchild of Levin.

The declaration from Netanyahu was made long after midnight, a week after he was sent to the hospital for what was reportedly dehydration. It also followed a turbulent day that witnessed some of the greatest anti-judicial reform demonstrations to yet.

On Saturday night, hundreds of thousands of Israelis came to the streets, and many more marched into Jerusalem and camped overnight close to the Knesset, the country’s parliament, in anticipation of a vote that would likely pass a significant section of the reform on Monday.

Over 100 former security officials came out in support of the rising number of military reservists who say they would quit reporting for duty if the proposal is approved, adding to the pressure on the Israeli prime minister.

The makeover proposal was unveiled by Netanyahu and his far-right supporters in January, just days after he took office. They contend that the idea is necessary to rein in the excessive authority of judges who are not elected. The idea, according to critics, would undermine the nation’s system of checks and balances and lead it toward authoritarian leadership. Netanyahu has been encouraged to put the proposal on hold and look for a wide agreement by US President Joe Biden.

Netanyahu, 73, maintains a full schedule and is in excellent health, according to his office. However, it hasn’t divulged many facts or medical records throughout the years. He was sent to Israel’s Sheba Hospital on July 15 due to dizziness. Later, he admitted that he hadn’t drank enough water while working in the scorching heat.

His visit to Sheba for the pacemaker surgery revealed that his health issues were more severe than first thought. In the video, Netanyahu said that during his hospitalization last week, he was placed with a monitor and that when an alarm went off late on Saturday, it signified he needed a pacemaker immediately quickly.

He said, “I feel wonderful, but I listen to my physicians.

What the hospitalization meant for the judicial reform, which has vehemently split the country, was not immediately obvious. Netanyahu said that he anticipated being freed in time to attend Monday’s vote in the Knesset. His office said that the weekly meeting of his Cabinet, which was typically conducted on Sunday mornings, had been rescheduled.

According to the National Institutes of Health, a pacemaker is utilized when a patient’s heart beats too slowly, which may lead to fainting episodes. Heart failure may also be treated with it. The gadget maintains a person’s regular heartbeat by electrically stimulating the heart. According to NIH, pacemaker users often resume normal activities after a few days.

According to Mayo Clinic, the surgery typically entails a doctor implanting the pacemaker close to the collarbone. Usually, at least one day must be spent in the hospital.

Thousands of Israelis had just finished a four-day march from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem’s major park, a short distance from the Knesset, to demonstrate against the judicial reform when Netanyahu spoke. In a desperate attempt to stop the judicial reform, hundreds of thousands of Israelis marched to the streets late on Saturday in Tel Aviv and other cities.

The parade into Jerusalem transformed the city’s main gate into a sea of blue and white Israeli flags as marchers finished the last stage of a four-day, 70-kilometer (45-mile) journey from Tel Aviv in sweltering temperatures that reached 33 C (91 F).

Thousands of applauding demonstrators greeted the marchers when they arrived in Jerusalem, where they set up camp in a line of tiny white tents after their number increased from hundreds to thousands as the march went on.

Business and medical leaders have harshly criticized the planned changes, and an increasing number of military reservists in important units have said that they would no longer report for duty if the proposal is approved, creating concerns about the security of Israel. According to “Brothers in Arms,” a protest organization made up of former soldiers, 10,000 more reservists said they would be taking a leave of absence on Saturday night.

In a letter to Netanyahu on Saturday, more than 100 former senior security officials, including retired military commanders, police commissioners, and directors of intelligence organizations, joined those demands and accused Netanyahu of undermining Israel’s military while pleading with him to stop the legislation.

Former Israeli prime minister Ehud Barak and former army head and defense minister Moshe Yaalon were among the signatories. Both are Netanyahu’s political adversaries.

The law, according to the former officials, “is crushing those things shared by Israeli society, is tearing the people apart, is dismantling the IDF, and inflicting fatal blows on Israel’s security.”

In his remarks, Netanyahu promised to keep negotiating a settlement with his opponents. when significant protests in March, he put the proposal on hold, but when compromise negotiations fell down last month, he resumed it.

Israel Katz, a top cabinet official from Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party, predicted that the law will pass on Monday regardless of the pressure from the military, which is widely regarded as the most respectable institution in Israel’s Jewish majority. “There is a clear attempt here to use military service to force the government to change policy,” he said to Channel 12 TV.

By prohibiting courts from overturning government decisions on the grounds that they are “unreasonable,” the revamp proposal would restrict the Supreme Court’s ability to exercise supervision.

The existing “reasonability” criterion, according to supporters, gives courts enormous control over the choices made by elected authorities. Critics assert that eliminating the criteria, which is only used in exceptional circumstances, will empower the executive branch to make arbitrary judgments, conduct erroneous hiring and firing decisions, and facilitate corruption.

The first significant piece of legislation would be adopted on Monday.

The revamp also asks for other significant adjustments intended at reducing the authority of the judiciary, such as restricting the Supreme Court’s capacity to review legislative judgments and altering the selection process for justices.

The overhaul is viewed by protesters, who represent a diverse spectrum of Israeli society, as a power grab motivated by the personal and political grievances of Netanyahu, who is on trial for corruption, and his allies, who want to strengthen Israel’s control over the occupied West Bank and continue the contentious exemptions from the draft for ultra-Orthodox men. Netanyahu is currently facing these grievances.