Israel blasts call for denuclearization

The Israeli nuclear agency has once again criticized efforts by Arab countries to push Tel Aviv into becoming a signatory to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

In a speech delivered on Tuesday, Israeli Atomic Energy Organization Director General Shaul Chorev blasted what he called “continuous ill-motivated efforts to single out and to condemn” Israel.

The Israeli official’s reaction came in response to a non-binding resolution, which urges Israel to join a global anti-nuclear arms treaty.

Arab states introduced the resolution at this week’s annual assembly of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

The “proposed resolution is incompatible with basic principles and norms of international law,” Reuters quoted Chorev as saying in his address to the IAEA gathering.

As a staunch supporter of Tel Aviv, Washington has warned Arab countries to withdraw the draft resolution, saying it will jeopardize direct talks between the Palestinian Authority and Israel.

The UN nuclear watchdog has so far refused to ratify any resolutions to condemn Israel’s nuclear activities. This is while Israel is widely believed to be the sole possessor of a nuclear arsenal in the Middle East.

IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano recently reported to the agency’s Board of Governors about the Israeli nuclear program, saying that Tel Aviv was restricting the agency from examining its nuclear potentials.

The report called on Israel to join the NPT and “place all its nuclear facilities under comprehensive IAEA safeguards,” with no enforcement measure.