Premier Yitzhak Shamir said Tuesday that Israel did not violate British laws in connection with Mordechai Vanunu’s transfer from Britain to Israel, and has informed the British government accordingly. He also insisted that “Israel is not selling arms to Iran.”
Shamir, who spoke to reporters while touring the Yemenite Israeli township of Rosh Haayin, was referring to London’s request for further information in the case of Vanunu, a former technician at the Dimona nuclear facility who is under detention in Israel for allegedly giving a British newspaper information about Israel’s nuclear weapons capabilities.
The Israeli government acknowledged Sunday that Vanunu, who was reported missing in London on October 1, is in Israel, but did not say how and when he got here. The government emphatically denied reports that he was kidnapped by Israeli agents on British soil.
Shamir said there was “no basis for any crisis of confidence or split between Britain and Israel,” as some sources have speculated in the Vanunu case. “After all, we have informed Britain that we have done nothing to contravene the laws of Britain. Therefore there is no reason for any complaints against Israel,” he said.
The question of Israeli arms sales to Iran arose from American media reports that Israel played the “middleman” in a clandestine operation by the National Security Council to secure the release of American hostages held by pro-Iranian groups in Lebanon in return for weapons.
Asked if Israel had been selling arms to Iran earlier, Shamir replied, “Israel does not deal with supplying weapons to Iran.”
HOPES FOR LESS SECRECY
Vanunu hopes for a public trial and that the veil of secrecy around him be dropped, according to his lawyer, Amnon Zichroni. It was reported Monday that he would be charged with either treason or espionage.
Zichroni met with Vanunu Tuesday in a new cell, to which the suspect was transferred at Zichroni’s insistence. There is still no word on the location of the prison.
Vanunu reportedly is under constant observation “for fear that he might hurt himself.” But Zichroni told reporters that he found Vanunu to be in good spirits. He is reading a lot, keeping to his vegetarian diet and has begun a beard.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
