Iran, China and a multitude of Arab nations on Monday condemned an Israeli minister’s statement that a nuclear bomb on the Gaza Strip was an option in the Israel-Hamas war, calling it a threat to the world.
At the long-planned opening of a UN conference whose goal is to establish a nuclear-free zone in the Middle East, many ambassadors criticized the comments by Israeli Minister of Heritage Amihai Eliyahu, who later called his remarks in a radio interview on Sunday “metaphorical.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu quickly disavowed the comments and suspended Eliyahu from Cabinet meetings.
Photo: EPA-EFE
Israel has neither confirmed nor denied its nuclear capability. It is widely believed to possess nuclear weapons, and a former employee at its nuclear reactor served 18 years in Israeli prison for leaking details and pictures of Israel’s alleged nuclear arsenal program to a British newspaper in 1986.
Chinese Deputy Ambassador to the UN Geng Shuang (耿爽) said Beijing was “shocked,” calling the statements “extremely irresponsible and disturbing” and should be universally condemned.
He urged Israeli officials to retract the statement and become a party to the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty as soon as possible.”
China is ready to join other countries “to inject new impetus” to establishing a nuclear weapons-free zone in the Mideast, Geng said, adding that there is greater urgency because of the situation in the region.
UN High Representative for Disarmament Affairs Izumi Nakamitsu, who opened the conference, did not mention Israel, but said: “Any threat to use nuclear weapons is inadmissible.”
Nakamitsu reiterated the urgency “of a Middle East zone free of nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction,” adding that “cool heads and diplomatic efforts” must prevail to achieve peace between Israel and the Palestinians, based on a two-state solution.
Omani Ambassador to the UN Mohamed al-Hassan, speaking on behalf of the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council which includes Saudi Arabia, said the threat to use nuclear weapons in Gaza “reaffirms the extremes and brutality of the Israeli occupation against the Palestinian people” and their “disregard for innocent life.”
He called on the UN Security Council and the International Atomic Energy Agency to take decisive action on the matter.
Iranian Ambassador to the UN Amir Iravani said the nuclear threats directed toward Palestinians by high-ranking Israeli officials highlight Israel’s “pride” in having these weapons in its hands.
“The secrecy surrounding Israel’s nuclear capabilities poses a significant threat to regional stability,” he said. “In these critical times, the imperative to establish such a zone in the Middle East has never been more urgent.”
Israel did not speak on Monday, but Netanyahu has said his country’s biggest threat remains the possibility of a nuclear-armed Iran, and it is prepared to prevent that from happening.
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