IAEA demands to inspect Israeli nukes

Posted By Joshua Keating Friday, September 18, 2009 - 5:05 PM Share

This is a major shift:

The UN nuclear assembly voted on Friday to urge Israel to accede to the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and place all atomic sites under UN inspections, in a surprise victory for Arab states.

The resolution, passed narrowly for the first time in nearly two decades, expresses concern about "Israeli nuclear capabilities" and calls on International Atomic Energy Agency chief Mohamed ElBaradei to work on the issue. 

The Middle East resolution, sponsored by Arab states, was backed by 49 votes to 45 against in a floor vote at the IAEA's annual member states conference. The vote split along Western and developing nation lines. There were 16 abstentions


This is a major victory as the Israel's representative on the council has already promised to "not cooperate in any matter with this resolution which is only aiming at reinforcing political hostilities and lines of division in the Middle East region." 

It also probably won't do a whole lot for the credibility of the IAEA to have one more country over which it is powerless to enforce its rulings.

EXPLORE:ISRAEL/PALESTINE, NUKES
 

GRANT

5:56 PM ET

September 18, 2009

I can only see this as either

I can only see this as either bad politics or an active effort to dismantle the IAEA. The entire world knows that Israel won't cooperate, especially as that is one area of politics that the U.S won't push Israel on. Combined with Iran, North Korea, India, Pakistan, and Syria's unexplained nuclear facilities the IAEA becomes less credible every day which increasingly adds to the danger of a nuclear world.

 

KERPOGS

6:39 PM ET

September 18, 2009

Inspect Israeli nukes

The way that the nuclear weapons world works today is that if you are "trusted" by the US and Europe-- you can overtly or covertly hold on to your nukes, particularly if a nation is not part of the non-proliferation regime.

 

COURTNEYME109

9:13 PM ET

September 20, 2009

Maybe not...

Sure - at first glance that certainly seems the deal. Closer inspection however reveals that democracies do not fear nuclear ambiguity in regards to other.

Tolerant, egalitarian societies with a penchant for periodic, transparent elections, a free, uncensored press, a nat’l treasury under public scrutiny, a military under civie control, an independent judiciary under elected Gov oversight are NOT the problem.

Rather unelected, unfree regimes that torment their own people and their neighbors are

 

MARIK7

12:42 AM ET

September 21, 2009

Treaty law

I may be wrong, but I thought that treaties that have been signed by the US become US law.

What's up?

 

CKECKTHAT55

2:40 AM ET

September 21, 2009

nuclear

UN nuclear assembly voted on Friday to urge Israel to accede to the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and place all atomic sites under UN inspections, in a surprise victory for Arab states.UN just want to make Arab country happy
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