Likud MK Hazan hospitalized after asthma attack

Likud MK Oren Hazan was hospitalized near Tel Aviv on Monday after suffering an asthma attack.

The lawmaker was also being treated in the Rabin Medical Center in Petah Tikva for a sinus infection.

Hazan was absent on Monday from the Knesset vote on the mandatory draft law, but said he hoped to attend Thursday’s vote on the two-year state budget. The Likud MK paired up with a Joint (Arab) List lawmaker who agreed on Monday to skip the first reading of the draft law in order to offset the lack of Hazan’s vote.

“This is what happens when you work around the clock and neglect your health,” the 34-year-old MK told the Walla news website.

Hazan is expected to be released from the hospital in the coming days. If he isn’t, the 61-strong coalition may find it problematic to pass the budget by the Thursday deadline. If the government fails to approve the 2015-2016 budget by then, it will be forced to call fresh elections.

In September, ahead of the first reading of the budget, Hazan reported sharp pains in his chest and shortness of breath during a Knesset meeting. 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.