President Shimon Peres returned to a full schedule of work Sunday, as if his collapse during a public appearance on Tel Aviv Saturday was only a nap.
"It’s great to see you so healthy,” said visiting U.S. Middle East envoy George Mitchell at the beginning of a scheduled meeting with President Peres on Sunday. “U.S. President Barack Obama and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton send you best wishes for a complete recovery," Mitchell added.
Amid dozens of flowers that American and other officials sent to the President’s House, the octogenarian thanked well-wishers for their interest and added, “Considering the alternative, I really feel good.”
“Of course, it is not possible to stop Shimon,” Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu told the weekly Cabinet meeting on Sunday. “He already has talked to me about what he plans to say to Mitchell. I told him to rest a bit because I think every citizen is seriously concerned about the health of the President.”
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak also telephoned President “Energizer,” who has been active in politics for six decades. “I wish you good health and a long life,” Mubarak told him. The President replied that he hopes that the Palestinian Authority and Israel can reach an agreement by the end of this month to resume talks on forming a new Arab state within Israel’s current borders.
He collapsed from dehydration Saturday night during a talk on young leadership, but quickly regained consciousness. He initially refused to go to the Tel HaShomer Medical Center, and after aides convinced him to go there, he resisted lengthy tests.
“The fainting spell lasted for several seconds and despite its being an unpleasant incident, there was nothing exceptional," said Dr. Rafi Walden. "There was nothing exceptional, and it could have happened to anyone else. All of us should be as healthy as he is at his age."
“The President did not want additional tests, but in order to remove any doubt, we conducted them, and he already decided to continue his schedule as planned.”