Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu rushed to hospital after feeling dizzy

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was rushed to hospital on Saturday after feeling dizzy, his office said, adding that it appeared the veteran Israeli leader was suffering from dehydration.

Netanyahu, 73, remained at Israel's Sheba Hospital, where he continued to undergo medical tests, his office said.

In a joint statement with the hospital, his office said Netanyahu had visited the Sea of Galilee, a popular vacation spot in northern Israel, on Friday.

The country is in the midst of a summer heat wave, with temperatures in the mid-30s Celsius .

According to the statement, Netanyahu began to feel "mild dizziness" on Saturday and his doctor instructed him to go to Sheba Hospital, near the city of Tel Aviv.

The hospital is well over half an hour away from Netanyahu's seaside residence in the coastal town of Caesarea.

"Preliminary tests came out normal and nothing abnormal was found," the statement said. "The initial assessment is dehydration."

It said that doctors had recommended he remain in the hospital for further testing.

Netanyahu is Israel's longest serving leader. He has served multiple terms in office. His current government, a collection of religious and ultranationalist parties, took office last December.

Netanyahu is said to be in generally good health, though he was briefly hospitalized last October after feeling unwell during prayers on Yom Kippur.

The Israeli leader faces pressure on multiple fronts.

He is on trial for multiple corruption charges in a case that has bitterly divided the nation. His government's hard-line policies toward Palestinians have drawn international criticism and antagonized relations with the United States, Israel's closest and most important ally.

At home, tens of thousands of Israelis have held weekly demonstrations against Netanyahu's government to protest his plan to overhaul the country's judiciary.

Netanyahu's allies say the plan is needed to rein in the power of unelected judges. But his opponents say the plan will destroy the country's fragile system of checks and balances and concentrate power in the hands of Netanyahu and his allies.