Former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and likely challenger to Benjamin Netanyahu was hospitalised on Sunday morning at the Meir Medical Center in Kfar Saba after experiencing a cardiac episode during a fitness workout. According to a hospital statement, Bennett underwent a catheterisation procedure and is in stable condition under medical supervision.

The health scare comes just weeks after Bennett, 53, signaled a possible return to politics. In early April, he registered a new political party under the provisional name “Bennett 2026”, following several months of internal research aimed at identifying potential voters. Sources close to Bennett say a formal decision on whether he will run in the next election has not yet been made, but polling suggests strong support. A recent Maariv survey found that a party led by Bennett could win as many as 27 Knesset seats--outpacing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud, which polled at 19 seats.