MNeagle
29th May 2010, 12:11 PM
May 29 (Bloomberg) -- Israel called “deeply flawed†and “hypocritical†a United Nations resolution ratified by 181 countries that calls for a 2012 conference on a nuclear-free Mideast, and said it would not take part in the talks.
“Israel is not obligated by the decisions of this conference, which has no authority over Israel,†a statement from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office distributed to press travelling with him in Toronto said.
“It singles out Israel, the Middle East’s only true democracy and the only country threatened with annihilation,†the statement said. “It ignores the realities of the Middle East and the real threats facing the region and the entire world.â€
Agreement on the 2012 meeting helps the U.S. address a demand of Arab nations as President Barack Obama pressures Iran to halt the pursuit of nuclear technologies that might lead to development of an atomic weapon. Arab states have said Israel has a nuclear arsenal that must be part of the discussion.
Israel, which hasn’t confirmed or denied it has nuclear weapons, hasn’t signed the non-proliferation treaty and didn’t attend the UN review conference. The declaration said Israel should ratify the treaty and allow inspection of nuclear facilities by the International Atomic Energy Agency.
June 1 Meeting
Netanyahu will discuss the resolution in a meeting scheduled with Obama on June 1, the statement said. “Regarding the practical consequences of this resolution for Israel, we take note of the important clarifications that have been made by the U.S. regarding its policy,†the statement added.
Gary Samore, the White House coordinator for arms control, called the naming of Israel in the UN resolution’s text “a negative political symbol†that made it less likely that Israel will attend, or even that the meeting will take place.
Obama, in a White House statement yesterday, said the U.S. “welcomes the agreements†from the conference, yet will “strongly oppose efforts to single out Israel, and will oppose actions that jeopardize Israel’s national security.â€
The U.S. backing of the resolution, even after subsequent criticism of the singling out of Israel by the Obama administration, is likely to be detrimental to ties between the allies, said Gerald Steinberg, a political scientist at Bar Ilan University.
U.S. Reliability
“Clearly for Israel this is another sign that the U.S. is not reliable on key security issues,†Steinberg said by phone. The resolution will also not benefit the indirect Israeli- Palestinian peace talks launched earlier this month as it will make Israel more reluctant to take security risks, he said.
Netanyahu canceled a planned trip to attend a nuclear summit in the U.S. in April when it became apparent that it was going to be used as a vehicle by some countries to attack Israel for not being a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty is an agreement between the five original nuclear powers -- the U.S., Britain, China, France and Russia -- not to spread the weapons and eventually to disarm, in exchange for a pledge from other nations not to join the arms race. At the same time, the non- nuclear nations were accorded the right to develop peaceful programs.
The proposal for Middle East talks in 2012 says all nations will meet “on the establishment†of a zone free of weapons of mass destruction “on the basis of arrangements freely arrived at†by them all.
In the past two months, Obama has signed an arms-reduction treaty with Russia, pledged to limit the potential U.S. use of atomic weapons and won commitments from 46 nations to protect stockpiles of uranium and plutonium.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=a5ITCa5boj6o&pos=9
“Israel is not obligated by the decisions of this conference, which has no authority over Israel,†a statement from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office distributed to press travelling with him in Toronto said.
“It singles out Israel, the Middle East’s only true democracy and the only country threatened with annihilation,†the statement said. “It ignores the realities of the Middle East and the real threats facing the region and the entire world.â€
Agreement on the 2012 meeting helps the U.S. address a demand of Arab nations as President Barack Obama pressures Iran to halt the pursuit of nuclear technologies that might lead to development of an atomic weapon. Arab states have said Israel has a nuclear arsenal that must be part of the discussion.
Israel, which hasn’t confirmed or denied it has nuclear weapons, hasn’t signed the non-proliferation treaty and didn’t attend the UN review conference. The declaration said Israel should ratify the treaty and allow inspection of nuclear facilities by the International Atomic Energy Agency.
June 1 Meeting
Netanyahu will discuss the resolution in a meeting scheduled with Obama on June 1, the statement said. “Regarding the practical consequences of this resolution for Israel, we take note of the important clarifications that have been made by the U.S. regarding its policy,†the statement added.
Gary Samore, the White House coordinator for arms control, called the naming of Israel in the UN resolution’s text “a negative political symbol†that made it less likely that Israel will attend, or even that the meeting will take place.
Obama, in a White House statement yesterday, said the U.S. “welcomes the agreements†from the conference, yet will “strongly oppose efforts to single out Israel, and will oppose actions that jeopardize Israel’s national security.â€
The U.S. backing of the resolution, even after subsequent criticism of the singling out of Israel by the Obama administration, is likely to be detrimental to ties between the allies, said Gerald Steinberg, a political scientist at Bar Ilan University.
U.S. Reliability
“Clearly for Israel this is another sign that the U.S. is not reliable on key security issues,†Steinberg said by phone. The resolution will also not benefit the indirect Israeli- Palestinian peace talks launched earlier this month as it will make Israel more reluctant to take security risks, he said.
Netanyahu canceled a planned trip to attend a nuclear summit in the U.S. in April when it became apparent that it was going to be used as a vehicle by some countries to attack Israel for not being a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty is an agreement between the five original nuclear powers -- the U.S., Britain, China, France and Russia -- not to spread the weapons and eventually to disarm, in exchange for a pledge from other nations not to join the arms race. At the same time, the non- nuclear nations were accorded the right to develop peaceful programs.
The proposal for Middle East talks in 2012 says all nations will meet “on the establishment†of a zone free of weapons of mass destruction “on the basis of arrangements freely arrived at†by them all.
In the past two months, Obama has signed an arms-reduction treaty with Russia, pledged to limit the potential U.S. use of atomic weapons and won commitments from 46 nations to protect stockpiles of uranium and plutonium.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=a5ITCa5boj6o&pos=9