Delegates of Arab countries, including Egypt, Syria and Iraq, of an IAEA conference criticised the double standard applied by some western countries on nuclear non-proliferation. They said that a televised statement by Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert that Israel possessed nuclear weapons had exerted a negative impact on peace, security and stability in the Middle East. A German television aired a statement by Olmert in which the Israeli prime minister announced that his nation now possessed nuclear weapons. The Arab delegates said that some countries have provided a political shield for Israel by applying a double standard on regional security and nuclear non-proliferation, and this had affected the reliability of the international nuclear non-proliferation system. They called for countries to be aware of Israeli nuclear capacities, and urged them to pressure for it to abandon the nuclear weapons. However, the 51st annual regular session of the IAEA General Conference recently held in Vienna failed to pass a resolution on Israel’s nuclear capabilities due to opposition from the United States and other western countries.
ISRAELI NUCLEAR CAPABILITY IS A THREAT
Delegates of Arab countries, including Egypt, Syria and Iraq, of an IAEA conference criticised the double standard applied by some western countries on nuclear non-proliferation.
