- VIENNA, Austria (Reuters)
-- The head of the U.N. nuclear watchdog said Wednesday he wanted Israel
to dismantle its nuclear weapons arsenal and he believed all Middle Eastern
states would benefit from ridding the region of nuclear weapons.
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- Israel has not signed the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty
and has never officially admitted to having the bomb. But nonproliferation
analysts estimate Israel has between 100 and 200 nuclear weapons.
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- Asked about a meeting with Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan
Shalom last week, International Atomic Energy Agency chief Mohamed ElBaradei
hinted Israel should sign the NPT, the global pact designed to stop the
spread of nuclear weapons.
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- "We obviously discussed ... efforts to try to move
forward toward application of safeguards (on) all nuclear activities in
the Middle East, including in Israel, and the possibility of moving forward
toward establishing a nuclear-weapon-free zone in the Middle East,"
he told reporters.
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- The U.N. General Assembly and IAEA General Conference
have adopted 13 resolutions since 1987 appealing to Israel to sign the
NPT and all have been ignored.
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- "In my view every country in the Middle East, including
Israel, will benefit from establishing a nuclear-weapon-free zone in the
Middle East as part and parcel of a comprehensive peace in the region,"
ElBaradei said.
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- Since the 1991 discovery and later dismantling of Iraq's
secret nuclear weapons program, Iran is the only Middle Eastern country
suspected of developing nuclear weapons - apart from Israel.
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- Pakistan and India have nuclear weapons and have not
signed the NPT. North Korea is suspected of having built at least one atom
bomb and withdrew from the NPT on New Year's Eve last year.
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- Copyright © 2003 Environmental News Network Inc.
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- http://www.enn.com/news/2003-11-27/s_10834.asp
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