UN Assembly Measure Tells Israel to Allow Inspection of Nuke Facilities

The General Assembly adopted a resolution today calling on Israel to “submit all its nuclear facilities to inspection by the International Atomic Energy Agency” and urging all states “to take all necessary measures to prevent the transfer of fissionable material and nuclear technology to Israel which could be used for nuclear weapons.”

The resolution, sponsored by Iraq, was adopted by a vote of 97-10 with 38 abstentions. Israel and the United States were among the countries that opposed it. Israel’s Ambassador to the UN, Yehuda Blum, denounced the resolution as nothing more than “a vehicle for the continuation of the anti-Israel political warfare conducted by the Arab states and their supporters in the UN.” He emphasized that Israel “remains faithful to its commitment to prohibit and prevent the spread of nuclear weapons.”

The resolution, titled “Israel’s Nuclear Armament,” appealed to all states “to put an end to any cooperation with Israel which may assist It in acquiring and developing nuclear weapons.” Another provision strongly condemned “any attempt by Israel to manufacture, acquire, store, test or introduce nuclear weapons into the Middle East.”

BLUM: RESOLUTION IS BASED ON HEARSAY

Blum, who spoke before the vote was taken, charged that the Iraqi draft resolution was based on hearsay. As far as Israel is concerned, he said, direct negations with the participation of all states in the Middle East “could contribute significantly to the implementation of a process leading to the establishment of a Nuclear Weapons Free Zone in the Middle East.”

Blum charged that “By avoiding mention of conventional weapons and by accusing Israel of trying either to acquire or of possessing a nuclear capability, Iraq has shifted into a safer area of slander where hearsay, rumor and speculation can be offered as ‘irrefutable evidence.’ “