Former Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been released from hospital after falling ill during a Yom Kippur service.
The 72-year-old leader of the opposition left Jerusalem’s Shaare Zedek Medical Center on Thursday after feeling unwell during a synagogue service on Wednesday.
Netanyahu’s office published a statement that said no unusual test results had been reported, and that the ex-PM had “returned to full activity” including his usual morning walk.
The statement also said Netanyahu thanked the facility’s “dedicated medical staff” at Shaare Zedek hospital, who has also confirmed his release after he remained there overnight.
“Former prime minister Netanyahu arrived independently at Shaare Zedek Medical Center after feeling unwell at the end of the Yom Kippur fast,” the medical centre’s statement read, continuing: “Immediately upon his arrival, he underwent an assessment and a wide-ranging series of tests, all of which came out normal.“Former prime minister Netanyahu is feeling well, and after consultations, it was decided that he would stay in the hospital overnight for observation.”
Netanyahu said he was “Feeling well and thanking everyone for the support and the love,” in a message posted to Twitter on Wednesday night.
מרגיש טוב ומודה לכולכם על התמיכה והאהבה. גמר חתימה טובה ❤️
— Benjamin Netanyahu - בנימין נתניהו (@netanyahu) October 5, 2022
The Likud party leader’s personal physician, Zvi Herman Berkowitz, told Hebrew media that Netanyahu was “excellent, not even pale,” following the hospital visit.
The politician’s official statement says he felt unwell while kneeling at the final Yom Kippur prayer service he was attending at Jerusalem’s Great Synagogue. He had been observing the traditional day-long fast prior to this.
It continued to state that Netanyahu made the decision to undergo further medical checks at the hospital after several he had before leaving the synagogue showed nothing abnormal.
Israel’s public broadcaster, Kan, published an unverified report claiming that Netanyahu had been experiencing chest pains.
Current Israeli prime minister Yair Lapid said he wished a speedy recovery for Netanyahu, who he is set to battle in Israel's fifth election in under four years on 1 November.
