Walla revealed on Thursday that an emergency medical vehicle, disguised as a Savanna van, joined Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s convoy in recent months.
Officials in the Prime Minister’s Office say this is a security procedure when he travels “long distances” from hospitals for operational reasons. Walla has found documents from around the country that contradict the claim.
In recent months, a secret ambulance was added to the Prime Minister’s secure motorcade in case of a medical emergency.
That’s how Wala found out. The ambulance is not identified and is disguised as a civilian Savannah vehicle and travels at the end of Netanyahu’s convoy. Two reliable sources close to Netanyahu told Walla that this is an emergency medical vehicle, which joined the prime minister’s convoy after he had a heart attack last summer and has been closely accompanying the convoy ever since.
The ambulance is unmarked, disguised as a civilian Savannah van, and travels at the end of Netanyahu’s convoy.
Two reliable sources close to Netanyahu told Walla that this is an emergency medical vehicle, which joined the prime minister’s convoy after he had a heart attack last summer and has been closely accompanying the convoy ever since.
Officials in the prime minister’s office confirmed to Walla that it is indeed an ambulance but say that it is not a policy change but a security procedure for an emergency vehicle to accompany the prime minister when he travels “long distances” from hospitals for work.
However, Walla has documents from the last few months showing the ambulance traveling in convoys in Caesarea, Tel Aviv, and Jerusalem, which are not “long distances” from hospitals.
Conversations with several sources who worked in the Prime Minister’s office in recent years under Netanyahu, Bennett, and Lapid indicated that in the past, the emergency vehicle was only used for very exceptional cases over long distances and was not an integral part of the routine convoy in most of the country.
The Prime Minister’s Office and Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) told Walla, “We do not comment on security arrangements.”
Netanyahu’s previous surgeries
Netanyahu underwent two surgeries under general anesthesia in the past year.
At the beginning of this month, he was hospitalized at Hadassah-University Medical Center in Ein Kerem for hernia surgery.
In July of last year, he had a heart attack, during which he was hospitalized twice at Sheba Medical Center in Tel Hashomer and had a pacemaker implanted in his body.
At first, the Prime Minister’s Office hid the reason for the hospitalization, claiming it was “dehydration”, but after the second hospitalization, they admitted that it was a cardiac problem. In both surgeries, Netanyahu was sedated and ventilated.
At the end of December, the Prime Minister’s Office published a type of annual health report containing two documents signed by 3 doctors who treat Netanyahu.
It was not considered an official medical report since many details about his health and medical history were missing, as is customary for leaders in Western countries and as established by a non-binding procedure for Prime Ministers in Israel as well.
MK Naama Lazimi and other petitioners, including doctors and psychiatrists, the families of the Nova victims and survivors of the Beeri massacre, submitted a petition to the High Court in March demanding the publication of Netanyahu’s full health declaration.
The petition claims that the “medical report” published by the Prime Minister’s Office raises concerns about Netanyahu’s health and reinforces the need to appoint a permanent deputy.
Netanyahu traditionally refused to appoint himself a deputy, and alternatively, he appointed Justice Minister Yariv Levin as a temporary deputy during the surgeries he underwent.
There were two documents in the medical report published by the Prime Minister’s Office in 2023.
The first document signed by Netanyahu’s personal and family physician, Dr. Zvika Berkovich, and Prof. Alon Pikarsky, Director of the General Surgery department at Hadassah-University Medical Center, stated that Netanyahu’s health condition was “fully functional.”
The document also said, “The Prime Minister is under strict and routine medical monitoring. Last year, he underwent routine annual examinations without any unusual findings. Prof. Roy Beinert will discuss the cardiac event that occurred this year separately. The Prime Minister maintains a healthy lifestyle and a proper diet.”
Prof. Beinert, the Head of the Institute for Arrhythmia in Sheba Medical Center, treated Netanyahu during his hospitalizations last year.
The second document, compiled by Prof. Beinert, states that he “is undergoing routine and follow-up treatment at the Sheba Medical Center. The pacemaker was implanted in his body after an examination he underwent during his hospitalization a few months ago. Since then, there is no evidence of arrhythmias or other events.”
Beinert wrote that Netanyahu does not need additional treatment apart from the required routine follow-up by pacemaker recipients.
