Israeli PM feels ‘very good’ following hospitalization for dehydration

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday declared that he feels "very good" after he was rushed to the hospital for what doctors said was likely dehydration.

But doctors ordered him to remain in the hospital overnight for further observation, and his weekly cabinet meeting was delayed by a day and rescheduled for Monday, his office said.

Netanyahu's office said he was hospitalized after feeling mild dizziness. It said that he had spent the previous day in the heat at the Sea of Galilee, a popular vacation spot in northern Israel, and that after a series of tests, the initial assessment was that the veteran Israeli leader was dehydrated.

Later on Saturday, a smiling Netanyahu issued a video statement from the hospital, saying that he had been out in the sun on Friday without wearing a hat and without water. "Not a good idea," he said.

"Thank God, I feel very good," he said, thanking the medical team and the public for messages of support.

The 73-year-old leader said he had "one request": that people drink water and stay out of the sun.

The country is in the midst of a summer heat wave, with temperatures in the mid-30s C.

Longest-serving leader

Netanyahu is Israel's longest-serving leader, holding multiple terms in office. His current government, a collection of religious and ultra-nationalist parties, took office last December.

On Saturday evening, Energy Minister Israel Katz, a member of Netanyahu's Likud party, told Israel's Channel 13 TV: "He's coming back to work. This event is behind us." He did not say when the prime minister would resume work.

Netanyahu is said to be in generally good health, though he was briefly hospitalized last October after feeling unwell during prayers on Yom Kippur.

The Israeli leader faces pressure on multiple fronts.

He is on trial for multiple corruption charges in a case that has bitterly divided the nation. His government's hard-line policies toward Palestinians have drawn international criticism and antagonized relations with the United States, Israel's closest and most important ally.

At home, tens of thousands of Israelis have held weekly demonstrations against Netanyahu's government to protest his plan to overhaul the country's judiciary.

Netanyahu's allies say the plan is needed to rein in the power of unelected judges. But his opponents say it will destroy the country's fragile system of checks and balances and concentrate power in the hands of Netanyahu and his allies.

Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid issued a statement on Saturday wishing Netanyahu a "full recovery and good health."

"Feel better," Lapid said on Twitter.