By Yaakov Lappin

The Israeli people and the country’s political system faced a level of division and polarization many observers were calling unprecedented on February 21, after the government led by the Likud and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu voted to approve the first reading of a judicial overhaul package introduced by Justice Minister Yariv Levin.

Tens of thousands of demonstrators arrived in Jerusalem on February 20 to protest the bills, and over 130,000 protesters amassed in Tel Aviv on February 19 to express their opposition.

President Isaac Herzog said swaths of the country were in "mourning” the day after the Knesset vote, adding that the onus is on the right-wing governing coalition to reach out and negotiate with the opposition. Netanyahu, for his part, described the vote as “a great day and a great night.”

The big question going forward is whether the government and opposition will find a way, in the coming weeks, to water down the draft passed in the first reading in order to reach a compromise based on a formula offered by Herzog earlier in February.  

The legislation aims to amend Basic Law: The Judiciary to cement government control over judicial appointments and revoke the High Court's ability to review Basic Laws. The next planned stage of the overhaul is a judicial override law that would enable a simple Knesset majority to override the Supreme Court if it rules a law as being illegal. 

Iran found to be enriching uranium to highest level to date

Israel’s ongoing domestic political crisis overshadowed dramatic news out of Iran in recent days.  Bloomberg reported on February 20 that the United Nations International Atomic Energy Agency is attempting to determine how Iran obtained uranium enriched to 84% purity — the highest level discovered by UN inspectors in the country to date, only 6% below the level of military-grade uranium that is required to produce a nuclear weapon.

It is important to note that according to Israeli military assessments, Iran remains around two years from the construction of a fully functional nuclear warhead, but that enriching to 90% represents a significant and alarming milestone on the path to becoming a nuclear-armed state.

Bloomberg cited two senior diplomats in its report. Iran previously informed the IAEA that its centrifuges were designed to enrich uranium to 60% purity. It has been enriching uranium to the 20% and 60% levels and is believed to have enough uranium, which, if enriched further to 90%, would be sufficient for four to five nuclear bombs.

The development comes a month after the United States Military and the Israel Defense Forces held a large-scale joint war drill that practiced scenarios of combat against an enemy that closely resembled Iran.

New level of Israeli – Emirati defense cooperation unveiled

As the shadow of Iran’s threatening activities continues to fall on Israel and Gulf Arab Sunni states, Israeli and Emirati companies unveiled on February 20 a jointly developed unmanned sea vessel in Abu Dhabi, in what is being described as a historic first. The system was unveiled at the biennial IDEX exhibition, which is attracting over 1,300 companies from 65 countries for the Middle East's largest defense conference.

State-owned Israeli Aerospace Industries, the Edge Group – a consortium of 25 Emirati defense companies –  and the Abu Dhabi Ship Building (ADSB) shipyard unveiled the vessel at the IDEX naval exhibition.

According to an IAI statement, the jointly produced autonomous vessel is outfitted with sensors, sonar, and imaging systems that are integrated into a remotely operated unified command and control system that does not require human intervention.

While ADSB designed the platform and is integrating the on-board sensors and control systems, IAI is designing the autonomous control system and the variety of dedicated sensors.

The unmanned sea vessel can be used for Intelligence gathering, tracking, observation, border and coastal surveillance, mine detection, submarine detection, anti-submarine warfare, and the deployment of drones.

The move represents another step toward the formation of an Israeli-Gulf-Sunni-Arab bloc committed to mutual cooperation, capability sharing, and defense against Iran.

Yaakov Lappin is an Israel-based military affairs correspondent and analyst. He provides insight and analysis for a number of media outlets, including Jane's Defense Weekly, a leading global military affairs magazine, and JNS.org, a news agency with wide distribution among Jewish communities in the U.S. Read full bio here.