8/4/2019 Egypt Calls for UN Monitoring of Israel Nuclear Program

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Egypt calls for UN monitoring of Israel nuclearprogramBy Abdel-Rahman Hussein / Daily News Egypt September 23, 2009, 2:00 am

CAIRO: Egypt has sent a letter to the 15 members of the UN Security Council calling for anuclear free Middle East and the monitoring of Israel's nuclear program.

Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit sent the letter last week to the foreign ministers of the 15member states in which he outlined that it was "unacceptable that Israeli nuclear capabilities befar from the Security Council concern and the rest of the non-proliferation system.

Foreign ministry spokesman Hossam Zaki said in a statement Tuesday that it was "unreasonablethat some countries would still be outside [the] legal frame [of nuclear non-proliferation], and berewarded by setting no restrictions on it for developing its nuclear capabilities, in light of a vaguepolicy that derived the belief that such countries own an armed nuclear arsenal.

A non-binding resolution passed last Thursday at the end of the annual general assembly of theInternational Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) called on Israel to sign the NuclearNonproliferation Treaty (NPT) as well as allow international observers access to its nuclearreactor in Dimona.

Another resolution was passed calling for nuclear disarmament in the Middle East. Israel,however, managed to scupper one resolution put forward by Iran that proposed prohibiting anymember of the IAEA from attacking the nuclear facilities of another member.

Zaki added that this dualistic stance where countries "request the imposition of additionalcommitments on countries already that joined the disarmament international agreement, whileoverlooking countries that refuse joining basic agreements in this issue . not only weakens butdestroys their credibility.

The statement pointed out that Aboul Gheit "requested the necessity for the Security Council topresent a time plan with tangible specific indicators in order to achieve such a goal [of nucleardisarmament], and support regional peace and stability.

Israel - and to a lesser extent Egypt - harbors deep reservations about Iran's nuclear aspirations,which is partially why both countries support a nuclear-free Middle East. However, Israel'srefusal to sign the NPT and the official silence surrounding its own nuclear program has meantthat Egypt is also concerned about its nuclear capabilities.

Egypt has begun its own nuclear energy program, which it insists is peaceful and is monitored byIAEA observers.

Israel has never formally admitted that it has a nuclear program but former Dimona employeeMordechai Vanunu blew the whistle on Dimona when he told the British press about the secretfacility in 1986. He spent 18 years in prison as a result.

8/4/2019 Egypt Calls for UN Monitoring of Israel Nuclear Program

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