President Shimon Peres said he 'feels fine' Saturday night after he collapsed during a question-and-answer session for young executives at the Rabin Center in Tel Aviv hours earlier.
The 86-year-old president fainted and collapsed on the lectern during the last question. He recovered consciousness after a few seconds, at which point he was taken to a side room where Magen David Adom medics treated him.
After the incident, people close to Peres told Haaretz that he was feeling "good," that he left the hall walking, and that he had a protracted debate with his aides about whether to go to hospital - which the president refused to do.
Peres was ultimately taken to the Sheba Medical Center at Tel Hashomer for further treatment.
At the hospital, Peres told the many aides who flocked to visit him that, "I feel fine, why did you come to the hospital? Go back to your children." Peres later spoke to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and told him that he feels fine.
"The president apparently suffered a drop in blood pressure," Peres' spokeswoman Ayelet Frisch said. "He is now fully functional and his personal doctor ran a series of tests which were normal," she told Israeli television. "We can relax now. I've spoken to him and he's fully conscious."
The 86-year-old president fainted and collapsed on the lectern during the last question. He recovered consciousness after a few seconds, at which point he was taken to a side room where Magen David Adom medics treated him.
After the incident, people close to Peres told Haaretz that he was feeling "good," that he left the hall walking, and that he had a protracted debate with his aides about whether to go to hospital - which the president refused to do.
Peres was ultimately taken to the Sheba Medical Center at Tel Hashomer for further treatment.
At the hospital, Peres told the many aides who flocked to visit him that, "I feel fine, why did you come to the hospital? Go back to your children." Peres later spoke to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and told him that he feels fine.
"The president apparently suffered a drop in blood pressure," Peres' spokeswoman Ayelet Frisch said. "He is now fully functional and his personal doctor ran a series of tests which were normal," she told Israeli television. "We can relax now. I've spoken to him and he's fully conscious."
