Top Arab MK hospitalized with chest pains during budget vote
Ayman Odeh, head of Joint List, in stable condition after falling ill at Knesset; doctors find irregular heart function
Joint (Arab) List leader Ayman Odeh was hospitalized Wednesday night after suffering sharp chest pains just as the Knesset plenum was about to vote on the state budget.
The 40-year-old was taken to Hadassah University Hospital, Ein Kerem, where doctors found irregularities in the functioning of his heart.
He was hospitalized overnight as a precaution, but was said to be conscious and in stable condition.
Odeh led the Joint (Arab) List — an amalgamation of four smaller parties — to a 13-seat showing in March’s national elections, making it the third largest party in the Knesset.
The heated debates around the budget also appeared to overwhelm Likud MK Oren Hazan, Channel 2 reported Wednesday, saying he felt sharp pains in his chest and shortness of breath during a Knesset meeting on Wednesday.
MK Ahmad Tibi, who is a medical doctor, was present at the meeting and examined Hazan before dispatching him to the Knesset medical center. Hazan, who suffers from a respiratory condition, later returned to the meeting.
In a special recess gathering, after hours of debates, lawmakers voted on the 2015-2016 budget proposal — called the largest ever — with 57 in favor and 53 opposed.
The budget, as presented by the government, comes to some NIS 424.8 billion ($108 billion) annually, or NIS 41 billion ($10.4 billion) more than in 2014 and the largest ever in Israel’s history, according to the Hebrew daily Israel Hayom.