Temporary new Prime Minister of Israel
The Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu is set to undergo Hernia surgery, his office said in a statement on Saturday. The condition discovered during a routine medical check-up on Saturday has prompted Netanyahu to seek treatment ahead of the planned invasion of Rafah.
The 74-year-old leader was put under general anaesthesia for the surgery with Israeli Justice Minister, Yariv Lenin serving as Interim Prime Minister, in Netanyahu’s absence. Latest in a series of health concerns, Netanyahu was fitted with a pacemaker last year in July. The operation carried out at the Hadassah Medical Centre-Ein Kerem, was also overseen by a cardiologist, said the hospital’s general surgery director, prof. Alon Pikarsky further adding that the former PM is in perfect health post-surgery.
In a press-release held by Benjamin Netanyahu prior of his surgery, he had said, “I assure you that I will get through this treatment successfully and return to action very quickly”.
Netanyahu was on thin ice for proposing a variety of controversial legal reforms like judiciary overhaul and the recently proposed military drafting bill, that will see Israel’s ultra-orthodox jews being conscripted into the IDF.
Controversial Military Drafting Bill Proposals : Netanyahu’s agenda after surgery?
This is going to be the next most difficult agenda of Netanyahu as soon as he returns after the surgery.
Historically, military exemptions were first granted to over 400 students of drafting age, who studied at religious schools called yeshivas by the founder of the nation David Ben Gurion in 1949, during the early days of Israel. Over time however the number of exemptions has only increased. According to official reports last year, nearly 66,000 ultra-Orthodox jews were awarded military exemptions by the government of Netanyahu.
Today, many ultra-Orthodox Jew’s see the new bill as a direct threat to their existence, while nearly 70% of the country supports the scrapping of the military exemptions.
With the ultra-Orthodox Jews also known as Haredim in Israel, make up over 13% of the country.
If Netanyahu is unable to appease the segment, it will mark the end of his coalition. Many of Netanyahu’s supporters hail from ultra-Orthodox Jewish communities, thus the verdict of has much potential for creating societal divisions in the country. On one hand Netanyahu introduced bills to increase the time frame of mandatory military duty, while on the other he has proposed bills to shield the ultra-Orthodox Jewish segments from conscription.
Stemming from these varieties of issues, mass protests and demonstrations were held across Jerusalem and Tel Aviv on Sunday, with hundreds and thousands of demonstrators urging Netanyahu to step down. These protests marked the internal societal conflicts, sparked by the controversial bills and drafts Netanyahu and his coalition have proposed in the parliament. Apart from charges of corruption, his favouritism towards the ultra-Orthodox Jewish community has further fuelled public discontent.
Surgery amid Escalation of Conflict in Gaza and the Invasion of Rafah
The most right-wing leader in Israel’s history, Netanyahu’s popularity has fallen sharply since the deadly October 7th attacks by Palestinian Islamist Hamas terrorists in south Israel, resulting in 1,200 deaths and 250 hostages, who were taken back to Gaza. The Israeli government has successfully brought back 105 of those civilian hostages till date. However, Israel also refused to sit for further cease fire talks and hostage exchanges with Hamas, raising concern from the families of hostages.
Marking it as the deadliest terrorist attack on Israeli diaspora since the Holocaust. Soon after, Israel launched a three-pronged attack on Gaza , by Land, Sea and Air. 5 months, 3 weeks and 4 days into the conflict, infrastructure on the Gaza strip has been completely devastated due to severe bombing. According to the Health Ministry in Gaza, nearly 29,878 Palestinians have been killed so far with a sharp rise in death tolls following Israel’s counter-attack.
With UN estimates of over 1.9 million people in Gaza have been displaced since Israel began its military campaign. Israel has been accused of bombing civilian infrastructure facilities like Hospitals and Refugee camps, repeatedly during the conflict disregarding International Humanitarian Laws.
Despite calls for resignation and mounting international pressure, Netanyahu has assured that the Invasion of Rafah will carry on as planned. Leading experts to anticipate that the conflict is likely to worsen as nearly 1.4 million refugees of Gaza remain sheltered in the Egypt-bordered town.
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