Netanyahu back in the hot seat after hernia operation

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was granted back his full powers of office Sunday after his doctor decided he had recovered sufficiently from an emergency hernia operation he had undergone Saturday night.

Hadassah Ein Kerem hospital director Yuval Weiss cleared Netanyahu to return to work in a phone call with cabinet secretary Avichai Mandelblit, thus relieving Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon of his interim duties.

“I wish express thanks to the medical team who cared for me dutifully and professionally and all the citizens who inquired about my health,” said the prime minister in a statement. “I continue to constantly care for your welfare and security.”

Netanyahu, 63, was said to have felt abdominal pain Saturday evening, prompting his personal physician Tzvika Berkovich and surgeon Aryeh Durst to examine him. A CT scan showed he had an umbilical hernia and doctors immediately decided to operate.

Netanyahu was reportedly in “good spirits” before the procedure, and his blood pressure and pulse were normal. He hadn’t needed a wheelchair to take him to the operating room.

Netanyahu’s operation was performed at Jerusalem’s Hadassah Ein Kerem hospital by a medical team led by Durst and Aviram Nissan, head of the surgery department, starting just past 2:30 a.m. He was first put under a local anesthetic, but was then placed under general anesthesia — at which time Ya’alon assumed temporary acting prime minister authorities.

Netanyahu was to be released later Sunday to recuperate further at home.

Netanyahu was scheduled to oversee a ministerial meeting Sunday to finalize the first stage of the release of Palestinian prisoners as part of the resumption of peace talks, but the Prime Minister’s Office said that the session would be chaired by Ya’alon.

The weekly cabinet meeting, regularly scheduled for Sunday mornings, was postponed to Monday.

The second round of peace talk meetings, set to take place in Jerusalem and Jericho, are still scheduled for Wednesday.