Arab Group in the UN Condemns Isael Forits Production of Nuclear Weapons

The Arab group in the United Nations Committee on Disarmament introduced a draft resolution Tuesday condemning Israel for its refusal to renounce the production of nuclear weapons in the country. The draft resolution also calls upon all states and international organizations to refuse to cooperate with Israel in the nuclear field.

The committee will vote on adopting the resolution next week.

The Arab resolution, which comes up in one form or another almost every year during the General Assembly session, followed a sizable report recently in the Sunday Times of London in which a former Israeli nuclear technician at the Dimona plant, Mordechai Vanunu, reportedly told the Times that Israel had been researching and developing nuclear weapons for 20 years.

The Israeli representative to the disarmament committee, Shalheveth Freier, said it is unreasonable-to-take-political action based on unconfirmed news reports.

“By quoting newspaper reports or speculations on Israel’s nuclear capabilities and making this out to constitute a danger, the group of Arab states simply seized on one more expedient in order to wage the multi-pronged campaign against Israel at the UN.”

In response to the Arab allegation, Freier said such newspaper reports and speculation on the nuclear capabilities of many industrialized countries have become commonplace throughout the years. These speculations, however, do not constitute grounds for a UN resolution condemning Israel.

Freier cited a statement by the head of the International Atomic Agency who said that scientific knowledge and skills necessary to produce nuclear weapons are within the reach of almost any advanced industrialized nation.

Freier also said that Israel’s expansion of nuclear technology should not be construed as a threat to the Arab nations. Israeli leaders have said repeatedly that Israel would not be the first to introduce nuclear weapons into the Middle East.