Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu having pacemaker fitted

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (AP)

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was undergoing a procedure to receive a pacemaker on Sunday, his office confirmed.

In a short statement, Mr Netanyahu’s office said Israel’s leader would be placed under sedation with justice minister Yariv Levin standing in for him.

The procedure comes one week after Mr Netanyahu was taken to hospital for what his office described as dehydration.

In a brief videotaped statement, Mr Netanyahu said he had been fitted with a monitoring device last week. An alarm on the device beeped on Saturday night, meaning he needed a pacemaker immediately.

Thousands of Israelis march to Jerusalem in protest of plans by prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government to overhaul the judicial system (Ohad Zwigenberg/AP)

“I feel excellent, but I listen to my doctors,” he said.

Israel faces widespread street protests over Mr Netanyahu’s contentious judicial overhaul plan, masterminded by Mr Lenin, which has triggered months of protests.

Hundreds of thousands took to the streets on Saturday night to demonstrate ahead of a key parliament vote on Monday.

The prime minister’s office said he would receive the pacemaker at Israel’s Sheba Hospital, where he was treated last week.

Mr Netanyahu said he expected to be released from the hospital on Sunday and head to the Knesset, or parliament, ahead of the expected vote on his overhaul.