1 of 1 Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Photo: Portal Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Photo: Portal
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was hospitalized on Saturday (15) with dizziness due to apparent dehydration, but he is in good condition, his office said, and there is no evidence of a possible transfer of power.
The 73yearold prime minister, Israel’s longestserving leader, was on vacation on Friday during a heatwave on the Sea of Galilee, his office said in a statement.
Netanyahu was taken to Sheba Hospital in the city of Tel Hashomer, near his private home on the Caesarea coast. Israeli media said he was fully conscious on the way to Sheba and entered the emergency room.
Channel 12 TV said he felt chest pains but there was no confirmation of this. He is not under sedation and no proceedings are underway to declare him incapacitated, he added.
Netanyahu’s office said he was admitted on his doctor’s recommendation after complaining of “slight dizziness”.
“The first tests were normal and without findings. The preliminary diagnosis is dehydration,” he said, adding that more routine tests are underway. A previous statement said his condition was good.
It was not immediately clear who might replace Netanyahu in the event of an emergency successor.
When then Prime Minister Ariel Sharon suffered a stroke in 2006, his deputy Ehud Olmert succeeded him.
Justice Minister Yariv Levin has represented Netanyahu on trips abroad.