Israeli PM undergoes hernia surgery

The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says that he has successfully undergone hernia surgery.

Mr Netanyahu’s office said he is recuperating at a Jerusalem hospital following overnight surgery for an umbilical hernia. A medical team diagnosed the hernia after Mr Netanyahu felt pain on Saturday.

The Prime Minister was given general anesthesia, and Defence Minister Moshe Yaalon was appointed acting Prime Minister during the few hours Mr Netanyahu was unconscious. Mr Netanyahu will be released later to recuperate further at home.

The weekly Cabinet meeting has been postponed.

In Mr Netanyahu’s place, the prime minister’s office says Mr Yaalon is leading a ministerial meeting on prisoners’ affairs.

Ministers are expected to approve the release of 26 Palestinian prisoners as part of US-led Israeli-Palestinian peace talks that begin this week.