Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hospitalized for heat dehydration

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was taken to hospital on Saturday, where he was said to be in “good” condition after undergoing a medical examination, his office said. Initial tests showed the Israeli leader was suffering from dehydration.

Netanyahu’s office said in a statement that he spent Friday enjoying the Israeli Sea of ​​Galilee during high summer temperatures. It said he felt dizzy and his doctor instructed him to go to Sheba Hospital, near the coastal city of Tel Aviv.

The statement said that initial tests showed that everything was fine, and it turned out that Netanyahu was suffering from dehydration. It says that the doctors ordered additional tests.

Israel is currently in the midst of a heat wave with temperatures in the mid-30s Celsius (mid-90s Fahrenheit).

Netanyahu, 73, is Israel’s longest-serving leader. He served multiple terms for over 15 years. His current far-right government, made up of religious and ultra-nationalist parties, came to power in December last year.

Netanyahu is said to be in generally good health, although he was briefly hospitalized last October after feeling unwell while praying on Yom Kippur, the day observant Jews fast.

Tens of thousands of Israelis hold weekly demonstrations against Netanyahu’s government to protest his plan to reform the country’s judiciary.

Netanyahu’s allies say the plan is necessary to curb the power of unelected judges. But his opponents say the plan would shatter the country’s fragile checks and balances and concentrate power in the hands of Netanyahu and his allies.

Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid issued a statement wishing Netanyahu “a full recovery and good health.”

“Feel better,” Lapid wrote on Twitter.