Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu underwent surgery to implant a pacemaker. He canceled visits to Cyprus and Turkey

Netanyahu was due to be received in Ankara on July 28 by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan as the first Israeli prime minister since 2008.

As reported by the Cypriot media, a tripartite meeting of leaders CyprusGreece and Israel has also been cancelled. Netanyahu was due to make an official visit to Nicosia on Tuesday. The country’s president, Nikos Christodulidis, was informed of the cancellation of the meeting on Sunday morning.

After overnight surgery, doctors at the Sheba Medical Center in Ramat Gan described Netanyahu’s health as “good.” At the same time, they admitted that the Prime Minister’s cardiac arrhythmia had already been detected last week, which contradicts the Sheba Clinic’s initial statement that no irregular heart rhythm was detected at the time.

The daily “Haaretz” reminds that the prime minister’s office has not provided information about his health since 2016.

Netanyahu has not yet appointed a permanent deputy, so there is no person who automatically receives the powers of prime minister if he is unable to fulfill his duties for health reasons. For this reason, the ministers of the ruling coalition last night had to approve the nomination of Yariv Lewin as acting head of government.

Netanyahu, 73, was hospitalized on July 15 after complaining of dizziness after a trip to the Sea of ​​Galilee and then collapsing at his home in Caesarea in the north of the country. The prime minister admitted then that he had spent several hours in the sun “without a hat, without water”. On July 16, the hospital confirmed his symptoms of dehydration and said his heart was in “excellent condition.”