[NukeNet] Arab League Vows to Drop Out of NPT if Israel Admits it Has Nuclear Weapons

[Bill Smirnow]

   http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/961275.html
 Last update - 23:12 05/03/2008


      Arab League vows to drop out of NPT if Israel admits it has nuclear
weapons

      By The Associated Press

      Tags: UN, Israel

      Arab countries will walk away from the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty
if Israel ever officially acknowledges it has nuclear weapons, the Arab
League announced in a statement Wednesday.

      As Arab foreign ministers met at the Cairo headquarters of the Arab
League to prepare for their annual summit at the end of the month, they also
issued a series of statements on regional issues, including extremely
sensitive matter of Israel's refusal to join the NPT.

      As soon as Israel announces it has nuclear weapons, the Arabs will
announce their withdrawal from the Nonproliferation Treaty, the statement
said.
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      Israel is widely believed to be the only country in the Middle East to
have nuclear weapons, though it maintains a policy of ambiguity, insisting
it will not be the first to introduce nuclear weapons into the region,
without confirming or denying their existence.

      That policy was shaken late last year when Prime Minister Ehud Olmert
appeared to acknowledge Israel's possession of nuclear weapons in an
interview with German television. He later maintained he was misunderstood.

      Arab countries, all of which are signatories to the treaty, have long
called for a nuclear-free Middle East and expressed their concern over
Israel's apparent possession of nuclear weapons.

      They said that if Israel admitted to having the weapons, they would
call on the UN Security Council to pressure Israel to destroy its nuclear
arsenal and bring its other atomic installation under international
inspection.

      If this did not happen, Arab countries would leave the treaty and not
sign any new one until Israel itself joined.

      While no Arab country is known to be actively seeking nuclear weapons,
several countries in the region have expressed interest in starting civilian
nuclear programs with foreign cooperation.


      Related articles:

      a.. Iran: UN should condemn Israel's 'clandestine' nuclear weapons

      a.. CIA reveals: We said in 1974 that Israel had nuclear weapons

      a.. Syria: Israeli nuclear weapons are sparking Mideast arms race







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