donderdag 14 december 2006

Israelische Kernwapens

'Iran, Arabs demand UN action over Israeli nuclear arms.
Agence France Presse.

CAIRO (AFP) - Iran and Arab states have seized on Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's statement implying that Israel has nuclear weapons, calling it proof of a regional threat and demanding UN action.
On Monday Olmert appeared to admit -- in breach of the
Jewish state's decades-long policy of ambiguity -- that
Israel possessed such weapons.
Iran called his comments a confession and demanded action
from the United Nations.
"This confession shows the real threat to security and stability in the Middle East, and it shows this regime's evil plans to carry out threats, a terror strategy and continued occupation," foreign ministry spokesman Mohammed Ali Hosseini said Wednesday.
"It is extremely necessary to adopt fast and efficient solutions on the UN Security Council and the Organisation of the Islamic Conference and other regional organisations to combat these clear threats," he said.
Israel, which Iran does not recognise, is Tehran's
arch-foe. It has repeatedly called for UN action over
Iran's nuclear programme and President Mahmoud
Ahmadinejad's anti-Israel comments.
The Arab League urged the international community and the Security Council to exert pressure on Israel "to open its nuclear facilities in a transparent manner."
"It is essential that Israel comply with international resolutions," Mohammed Sobeih, the assistant secretary general in charge of Palestinian affairs, told reporters in Cairo.
The 22-member body called on "all states which offered assistance to Israel, particularly on the issues of uranium and heavy water, to speak out without delay," he said.
"Everyone knows that Israel possesses weapons of mass destruction which could reach as far as 2,000 kilometres (1,240 miles), and all Arab capitals are within this range," Sobeih added.
On Tuesday the Gulf Cooperation Council -- grouping
Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United
Arab Emirates -- demanded that sanctions be imposed on
Israel.
GCC Secretary General Abderrahman al-Attiya called on the United States not to apply a policy of "double standards" and to "work for the application (against Israel) of the resolutions of international legitimacy and of Chapter VII."
Chapter VII of the UN charter deals with action the
Security Council might take regarding threats to the
peace, breaches of the peace and acts of aggression.
As a first step, it says the council may call for member
states to impose sanctions, including complete or partial interruption of economic relations and the severance of diplomatic relations.
If such measures fail, military action can be called for.
In a Monday interview with German television, Olmert
listed Israel as a country with nuclear weapons.
"We never threatened any nation with annihilation," he
said.
"Iran openly, explicitly and publicly threatens to wipe
Israel off the map. Can you say that this is the same
level, when they are aspiring to have nuclear weapons, as France, America, Russia and Israel?" he asked.
Olmert's spokeswoman Miri Eisin was quick to deny that the premier admitted Israel had nuclear weapons, saying "Israel will not be the first country to introduce nuclear weapons to the region."'

Geen opmerkingen:

Peter Flik en Chuck Berry-Promised Land

mijn unieke collega Peter Flik, die de vrijzinnig protestantse radio omroep de VPRO maakte is niet meer. ik koester duizenden herinneringen ...