Israel launches campaign to block supervision of nuclear facilities
Israel has begun a campaign to foil a resolution pushed by Egyptian and other Muslim states to subject Israeli nuclear facilities to international supervision, according to Haaretz.
2 min read
Israel's Dimona nuclear power plant in the southern Negev desert [Getty]
Haaretz reported on Monday the Israeli foreign ministry has launched a diplomatic campaign two weeks ago to block a resolution to put Israeli nuclear facilities under international supervision.
The newspaper said Israel was trying to thwart a resolution, which is being pushed by Arab and Muslim states that will come up for a vote at the International Atomic Energy Agency’s General Conference in mid-September.
A senior foreign ministry official told Haaretz he feared the recent nuclear deal between Iran and the six powers will make it hard for Israel to defeat the resolution.
The resolution which is titled “Israeli nuclear capabilities” and has been repeatedly proposed by Egypt in past years.
It demands that Israeli open its reported nuclear facilities to IAEA inspection and calls for an international conference on making the Middle East a nuclear-weapons-free zone.
Egypt and Iran proposed a similar resolution a few month ago at the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty review conference, but the United States, Britain and Canada blocked it.
Israel has succeeded in mustering a majority against Egypt’s IAEA resolution for the last three years.
But this time just before the beginning of public holidays in European countries, the Israeli foreign ministry has sent cables to all Israeli embassies and consulates instructing them to urge their host governments to oppose the Egyptian-led resolution.
The cable claims the resolution is fundamentally biased and mistaken and is aimed at diverting global attention from the real dangers of nuclear proliferation in the Middle East.
The newspaper said Israel was trying to thwart a resolution, which is being pushed by Arab and Muslim states that will come up for a vote at the International Atomic Energy Agency’s General Conference in mid-September.
A senior foreign ministry official told Haaretz he feared the recent nuclear deal between Iran and the six powers will make it hard for Israel to defeat the resolution.
The resolution which is titled “Israeli nuclear capabilities” and has been repeatedly proposed by Egypt in past years.
It demands that Israeli open its reported nuclear facilities to IAEA inspection and calls for an international conference on making the Middle East a nuclear-weapons-free zone.
Egypt and Iran proposed a similar resolution a few month ago at the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty review conference, but the United States, Britain and Canada blocked it.
Israel has succeeded in mustering a majority against Egypt’s IAEA resolution for the last three years.
But this time just before the beginning of public holidays in European countries, the Israeli foreign ministry has sent cables to all Israeli embassies and consulates instructing them to urge their host governments to oppose the Egyptian-led resolution.
The cable claims the resolution is fundamentally biased and mistaken and is aimed at diverting global attention from the real dangers of nuclear proliferation in the Middle East.
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