As the parliament came close to voting on a contentious change in the judicial system, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he was fine after having a cardiac pacemaker inserted early Sunday.
(Bloomberg) — As the parliament came close to voting on a contentious change in the judicial system, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he was fine after having a cardiac pacemaker inserted early Sunday.
The 73-year-old premier, who fainted a week ago, said in a video statement from the hospital that he would join the parliamentary debate on Monday morning. The weekly Sunday cabinet meeting was canceled, and trips to Cyprus and Turkey were postponed, his office said.
His health is having added significance with Israel in the midst of one of its most controversial internal debates over his government’s plan to reduce the power of the judiciary to oversee political decisions.
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On Saturday night, hundreds of thousands of Israelis took part in demonstrations opposing the plan, notably a bill due for final passage in coming days that would ban judges from invalidating a government decision or appointment because it is “unreasonable.”
The bill’s supporters, led by Netanyahu’s religious, right-wing coalition, say “reasonableness” leads to abusive activism by judges; opponents say it is a vital tool of a branch of government needed to rein in populist political moves.
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Thousands of reservists — vital to military operations — have said in recent days that they will refrain from their volunteer service if the bill becomes law. More than 100 top former heads of various security services, many of whom worked directly for Netanyahu, have called on him to halt the legislation.
Yossi Cohen, who was once Netanyahu’s chief of the Mossad spy agency, and widely seen as among his closest and most trusted aides, wrote a column in Yediot Aharonot newspaper on Sunday calling on him to stop the bill in the name of national security.
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Key members of the governing coalition have been pushing back, saying that to do so would be yielding to blackmail, and the reservists should be condemned. Parliament is due to debate the bill Sunday for passage as early as Monday.
A compromise proposal put forward by the Histadrut Labor Federation was rejected by both sides.
The fight over the judiciary is complicated by the fact that Netanyahu himself is under indictment for fraud and bribery and his government includes extremists on the right who advocate policies that the courts, using reasonableness, would be able to stop.
If the bill does become law, the Supreme Court will be asked to invalidate it, posing what many believe will be a constitutional crisis.
(Adds Netanyahu comments from hospital starting in lede, rejection of compromise proposal in ninth.)
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