Netanyahu dealing with medical emergency as Israel reaches new level of unrest

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was recovering in a hospital on Sunday after an emergency heart procedure, while opposition to his government's contentious judicial overhaul plan reached a fever pitch and unrest gripped the country.

Netanyahu's doctors said Sunday the heart pacemaker implantation went smoothly and that Netanyahu, 73, felt fine.

According to his office, he was expected to be discharged later in the day.

But tensions were surging as lawmakers began a marathon debate over the first major piece of the overhaul, ahead of a vote in parliament enshrining it into law on Monday.

Mass protests continued for part of seven straight months of the most sustained and intense demonstrations the country has ever seen.

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 Monday's vote.

Netanyahu's sudden hospitalisation added another dizzying twist to an already dramatic series of events that are certain to shape Israel's future.

It comes as the longest-serving Israeli leader faces the worst domestic crisis of his lengthy tenure, which has shaken the economy, forged cracks in the country's military and tested the delicate social fabric that holds the polarised country together.

Lawmakers began their debate despite the hospitalisation.

Follow The Gleaner on Twitter and Instagram @JamaicaGleaner and on Facebook @GleanerJamaica. Send us a message on WhatsApp at 1-876-499-0169 or email us at onlinefeedback@gleanerjm.com or editors@gleanerjm.com.