Netanyahu recovers from a heart procedure while his judicial overhaul plan moves forward

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was recovering in a hospital yesterday 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 yesterday 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 were set to continue. 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 hospitalization 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 gravest challenge of his leadership and the country’s worst domestic crisis which has shaken the economy, forged cracks in the country’s military and tested the delicate social fabric that holds the polarized country together.

Lawmakers began their debate despite the hospitalization. In a fiery speech launching the session, Simcha Rothman, a main driver of the overhaul, denounced the courts, saying they damaged Israel’s democratic fundamentals by arbitrarily striking down government decisions. TIA GOLDENBERG,TEL AVIV, MDT/AP