Israel will have an acting prime minister for several days. What’s behind this change?

For several days, Israel will be led by an acting prime minister. This is due to the fact that the current head of government, Benjamin Netanyahu, will undergo surgery.

This information was reported by RBC-Ukraine citing The Times of Israel.

It is known that today, Sunday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will be under full anesthesia during a prostate removal operation. Afterwards, he will remain in the hospital for "several days."

The relevant information was conveyed to the Jerusalem District Court by Amit Hadad, the lawyer representing Netanyahu in the criminal case, in a motion to cancel court decisions requiring the prime minister to testify this coming week.

"It is expected that the prime minister will remain in the hospital for several days. At this stage, the court is being asked to cancel the hearings scheduled for this week," Hadad stated in his letter.

The court, in turn, granted the motion and added that the hearings are now expected to take place on Monday, January 6. The prime minister was also wished a speedy recovery.

According to media reports, during the operation and Netanyahu's absence, Justice Minister Yariv Levin will temporarily assume the duties of the prime minister. Meanwhile, Defense Minister Israel Katz will be authorized to convene the National Security Cabinet if necessary.

What preceded this

On Saturday, the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that on Wednesday, the 75-year-old official underwent an examination at "Hadassah" hospital. As a result, he was diagnosed with a urinary tract infection caused by benign prostatic hyperplasia. He is now scheduled to have prostate surgery.