United Nations, NY – Israel must comply with the demands of the International Atomic Energy Agency if the Mideast is to become a region free of weapons of mass destruction, Syria’s foreign minister said Monday.
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Foreign Minister Walid Al-Moualem echoed calls by many Arab nations during the current U.N. General Assembly session for Israel to comply with the IAEA’s demand to submit its nuclear facilities to the agency’s safeguard regime and to adhere to the Non-Proliferation Treaty. The treaty restricts any nuclear program to nonmilitary purposes.
Israel has never said it has nuclear weapons, but is universally believed to possess a sizable arsenal of such warheads.
The U.S. and its allies consider Iran the region’s greatest proliferation threat, fearing that Tehran is trying to achieve the capacity to make nuclear weapons despite its assertion that it is only building a civilian program to generate power. They also say Syria – which, like Iran is under IAEA investigation – ran a clandestine nuclear program, at least until Israeli warplanes destroyed what they describe as a nearly finished plutonium-producing reactor two years ago.
Islamic nations, however, insist that Israel is the true danger, saying they fear its nuclear weapons capacity.
Earlier this month, the 150-nation IAEA conference adopted a resolution directly criticizing Israel and its atomic program for the first time in 18 years. Iran hailed the vote as a “glorious moment.”
The result was a setback for Israel, the United States and other backers of the Jewish state. It also reflected building tensions between Israel and its backers and Islamic nations, backed by members of the 120-nation Nonaligned Movement.
The meeting adopted a resolution calling for a Mideast free of nuclear weapons in a near-consensus vote, with only Israel voting against.
“Syria stresses the need to commit Israel to comply with the resolution adopted by the IAEA … regarding Israeli nuclear capabilities,” Al-Moualem said.
Attempts to contact the Israeli mission to the U.N. for comment were unsuccessful on the holiday of Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the Jewish calendar.
Yeah, right. Like that will happen. As a non-party to the NPT, Israel has every right to keep its program, and to keep it secret, and any Prime Minister who would change that should be tried for treason. Israel’s safety depends on its nuclear deterrent, which includes the deliberate refusal to confirm or deny its existence, thus keeping the enemy guessing (though Peres opened his stupid mouth about it a few years ago, and confirmed that it does indeed exist).
How can Isreal politically seek support to confront Iran for violating its obligations under the nuclear non-proliferation treaty when Isreal itself is a non-signatory and refuses to allow UN inspection of Dimonah and its other facilities. I’m not suggesting they do so, only wondering about the apparent double standard.
This is where its going. Hashem should have mercy.
if syria suggests that Israel do something. Israel should do the opposite.
i believe it was olmert who opened his stupid mouth, not peres
It’s believed that Eretz Yisroel started their nuclear program about 30-40 years ago. They never spoke publicly about it much less use it and nobody in the region ever felt threatened. It was never an issue. Now that the Arabs ym”s are going nuclear, all of a sudden EY has to participate. I think that EY should adamantly refuse to join the Non-Proliferation Treaty. They should learn their lesson already that complying with the worlds demands is never to their benefit.
When the Arabs fear the G-d of Israel more than weapons, we will have peace.
The United Nations and almost every one of its agencies are rabidly anti-Israel. Why Israel has remained a member nation of that body is hard to understand. The overwhelming majority of its actions have been anti-Israel. Doesn’t the organization have anything else to do? Neither Iran nor Syria has any goal that resembles world peace. Israel does. So what if it has nuclear capabilities? But in the world of democracy, there is this man-made obligation to listen to everyone and take them seriously. Look at the churbanos that come from such indiscriminate application of basic values.
israel needs more nukes.
I didn’t know Syria recognizes Israel!