Israel not to sign NPT under pressure: defense minister

JERUSALEM, April 14 (Xinhua) --

Israel would not join the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) despite high pressure, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak said on Wednesday.

 "There is no room to pressure Israel to join the Nuclear Non- Proliferation Treaty," Barak was quoted by local daily Ha'aretz as saying.

The U.S. President Barack Obama on Tuesday urged all countries, including Israel, to sign the NPT, after the Nuclear Security Summit ended.

Israel is among only a few countries that are not parties to the NPT, and is expected to be the only Middle East country in possession of nuclear weapons. Yet it abides by a policy of " nuclear ambiguity," neither confirming nor denying the assumption.

Meanwhile, Israel has long been accusing Iran of secretly developing nuclear weapons and thus posing an existential threat to Israel, and has been urging the international community to impose crippling sanctions upon the Islamic republic. The Zionist state also refused to rule out the possibility of launching military attacks on Iran's nuclear facilities.

Last week, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu cancelled a planned trip to Washington for the U.S.-hosted nuclear summit, out of concerns that Muslim states would use the meeting to press Israel to sign the NPT.

Editor: Mu Xuequan

Experts divided on U.S. NPT call to Israel

by David Harris

JERUSALEM, April 15, 2010 (Xinhua) --

When U.S. President Barack Obama called on Israel on Tuesday to sign up to the Nuclear Non- Proliferation Treaty (NPT), many in Israel expressed their concern with this public statement.

Since the days of former U.S. President Richard Nixon, Israel has maintained a policy of ambiguity when it comes to its nuclear arsenal.

While experts are convinced Israel possesses nuclear weapons, the Jewish state will neither confirm nor deny this.

Analysts in the field were divided in their opinions when they spoke with Xinhua in the wake of Obama's remarks that "whether we' re talking about Israel or any other country, we think that becoming part of the NPT is important."

While that comment from Obama caused consternation in Israel, he did go on to point out that this is not a new American position.

AMERICA AND ISRAEL'S NUCLEAR CAPABILITY

"It's a long-standing American policy and President Obama was absolutely correct yesterday to call on Israel to join the NPT and to note that this was consistent with past statements and policies by the U.S. government," said Jacqueline Shire, a senior analyst at the Institute for Science and International Security in Washington.

Shlomo Aronson, a professor of politics at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, whose expertise is in the proliferation of nuclear weapons and American policy, sees the American position from a very different angle.

"Israel has been a member of nothing (nuclear) for 40 years. The entire (nuclear) complex at Dimona (in southern Israel that is reportedly at the heart of its nuclear weapon capability) predated the NPT," said Aronson.

If Israel really does have the much-spoken-of nuclear arsenal, it came into being a couple of years before the NPT was approved in March 1970, he said.

All American presidents since Lyndon Johnson have accepted as a fact that Israel has a nuclear capability and is not a party to the NPT, according to Aronson.

That having been said, the Americans would like Israel to be a party to the NPT, according to Ivan Oelrich, the vice president of the Strategic Security Program at the Federation of American Scientists.

"I am certain the answer is yes but eventually, perhaps not now, perhaps not soon, but there is a realization that an eventual resolution of the nuclear question in the Middle East will require addressing in some way Israel's nuclear forces," said Oelrich.

FOR IRAN'S EARS

The Americans may want Israel to be the 190th signee to the NPT, but the administration is fairly realistic that this is not going to happen anytime soon.

Aronson maintains the reason Obama said Israel and other countries should make the move now was principally because he had to be heard pushing Israel.

"He said it so that others would join, and principally he said it for his top priority, Iran. What's made it worse is that Iran is a member of the NPT," said Aronson, pointing to the fact that most experts believe Iran is developing nuclear weapons even though it is a party to the NPT.

Obama's remarks regarding Israel were made as he drew to a close the meeting of world leaders in Washington to discuss nuclear security.

Perhaps the most noticeable absentee from the gathering was Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Shire regrets Netanyahu's decision to stay away from the gathering. Had he attended, he would have sent a powerful message that Israel understands what is being asked of it "even if it is not going to join the NPT any time soon."

She also argues that Israel can only gain by joining the NPT club of nations. By doing so, Israel would ease a major area of tension in the Middle East and it would put the onus on other states in the region.

"If Israel's nuclear program were not a factor, you'd be removing not just an irritant, but you'd also be removing an excuse that other countries in the region use for not taking steps that we would like to see to be more robust," she said, with Iran foremost in mind.

Oelrich shares Shire's view that Israel could benefit from being party to the NPT.

"I believe it would. I find it hard to imagine an Israeli government that will soon agree with me," he said.

NUCLEAR-FREE MIDDLE EAST

Some experts argue that Israel will only change its spots if and when Iran declares that it has nuclear weapons of its own.

However, Aronson sees that as something of a moot point because he does not believe Iran has any intention of admitting to possessing nuclear weapons in the foreseeable future.

"They will also play the ambiguity card," he said, adding that if Iran conducts a nuclear test it puts Tehran in the crosshair, not Israel.

Oelrich does not envisage a point at which Israel will be forced to come clean, but he does see a general move towards a reduction in nuclear arsenals around the world. This was brought into sharp relief this week with the signing in Prague of the nuclear stockpile reduction accord by Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.

"I think Israel, like India and Pakistan, and even the U.S. and Russia will eventually realize that nuclear weapons harm more than they enhance their security. 'Eventually' in all these cases is probably further into the future than I would like, but we are moving in that direction," said Oelrich.

Editor: Yang Lina