UN atomic energy agency chief Mohamed ElBaradei will head for Israel tomorrow to pitch for a nuclear-free zone in the Middle East, despite the Jewish state allegedly having up to 200 nuclear weapons.
Israel has a policy of "ambiguity" under which it neither confirms nor denies it has the bombs.
But ElBaradei, director general of the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said in Moscow last week that Israel should "clarify" its nuclear activities and start working toward ridding the Middle East of nuclear weapons.
IAEA spokesman Mark Gwozdecky confirmed Saturday that these would be key topics on ElBaradei's visit tomorrow to Thursday. ElBaradei is to meet with Israeli energy officials as well as Cabinet ministers.
ElBaradei visits Israel after two other critical trips this year -- to Libya, which has disarmed its nuclear weapons programs, and to Iran.
ElBaradei's trip also follows the release from prison earlier this year of Israeli nuclear whistle-blower Mordechai Vanunu, who says Israel should rid itself of nuclear weapons and open up to international inspection.
Arab countries that are members of the IAEA have complained that Israel is not being investigated at a time when countries like Iran are under intense scrutiny from the UN agency.
But Israeli analyst Gerald Steinberg held out little hope for ElBaradei to make much progress.
Steinberg, from the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, said in a statement that Israel was not about to change its policy and sign on to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty that mandates the IAEA to verify nuclear activities worldwide.
"There is no foundation for a change" since "the threat to Israel has not diminished much in the past five decades and hatred of Israel in the Arab and Muslim worlds remains intense," Steinberg said.
He said Israel was particularly worried about Iran, which the IAEA is investigating for allegedly secretly developing nuclear weapons.
Steinberg said Israel's giving up its "nuclear insurance policy ... would actually make the region more unstable" and that Israel would not accept a tradeoff "linking Iran's illegal nuclear program with pressure on Israel to abandon its deterrent."
He added that a nuclear-free zone in the Middle East "however distant, will become essentially unfeasible if Iran crosses the point of no return in its development of nuclear weapons."
ElBaradei said: "I think the message we need at the end of the day is to rid the Middle East of all weapons of mass destruction. Israel agrees with that. They say that has to be in the context of a peace agreement."
ElBaradei said that rather than waiting there should be a "parallel dialogue on security and ... the peace process. I don't think you'll have peace without people understanding what sort of security structure you will have."
IAEA spokeswoman Melissa Fleming said it would be ElBaradei's first trip to Israel in six years and that he would be carrying out his mandate from the 137-member agency "to promote non-proliferation and a nuclear weapon-free zone in the Middle East."
India and Pakistan, two other relatively new nuclear powers, have also refused to sign the NPT, while long-established nuclear states China, Britain, France, the United States and Russia are founding members of the treaty.
LANDMARK CASE: ‘Every night we were dragged to US soldiers and sexually abused. Every week we were forced to undergo venereal disease tests,’ a victim said More than 100 South Korean women who were forced to work as prostitutes for US soldiers stationed in the country have filed a landmark lawsuit accusing Washington of abuse, their lawyers said yesterday. Historians and activists say tens of thousands of South Korean women worked for state-sanctioned brothels from the 1950s to 1980s, serving US troops stationed in country to protect the South from North Korea. In 2022, South Korea’s top court ruled that the government had illegally “established, managed and operated” such brothels for the US military, ordering it to pay about 120 plaintiffs compensation. Last week, 117 victims
China on Monday announced its first ever sanctions against an individual Japanese lawmaker, targeting China-born Hei Seki for “spreading fallacies” on issues such as Taiwan, Hong Kong and disputed islands, prompting a protest from Tokyo. Beijing has an ongoing spat with Tokyo over islands in the East China Sea claimed by both countries, and considers foreign criticism on sensitive political topics to be acts of interference. Seki, a naturalised Japanese citizen, “spread false information, colluded with Japanese anti-China forces, and wantonly attacked and smeared China”, foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian told reporters on Monday. “For his own selfish interests, (Seki)
Argentine President Javier Milei on Sunday vowed to “accelerate” his libertarian reforms after a crushing defeat in Buenos Aires provincial elections. The 54-year-old economist has slashed public spending, dismissed tens of thousands of public employees and led a major deregulation drive since taking office in December 2023. He acknowledged his party’s “clear defeat” by the center-left Peronist movement in the elections to the legislature of Buenos Aires province, the country’s economic powerhouse. A deflated-sounding Milei admitted to unspecified “mistakes” which he vowed to “correct,” but said he would not be swayed “one millimeter” from his reform agenda. “We will deepen and accelerate it,” he
Japan yesterday heralded the coming-of-age of Japanese Prince Hisahito with an elaborate ceremony at the Imperial Palace, where a succession crisis is brewing. The nephew of Japanese Emperor Naruhito, Hisahito received a black silk-and-lacquer crown at the ceremony, which marks the beginning of his royal adult life. “Thank you very much for bestowing the crown today at the coming-of-age ceremony,” Hisahito said. “I will fulfill my duties, being aware of my responsibilities as an adult member of the imperial family.” Although the emperor has a daughter — Princess Aiko — the 23-year-old has been sidelined by the royal family’s male-only
RSS