Arab-Israeli MK Talab Al Sane’ has demanded access to the Dimona nuclear reactor complex to see if it is responsible for the high rate of cancer and other diseases suffered by Bedouins and workers who live nearby, reported Israel Radio, cited by Haaretz newspaper Wednesday.
Sane’, a member of the Knesset labor and welfare committee, told the radio that he would appeal to the supreme court if he did not get authorization to inspect the site from Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.
"The rate of cancer and other illnesses is higher among Bedouins who live near the reactor and it is my duty as an elected official to find out why," he said.
Zeev Baum, an MK from Sharon's right-wing Likud party, dismissed Sane as a "provocateur," and said giving him access to Dimona would be like letting Palestinian President Yasser Arafat into the top-secret facility, said the radio.
Israel has never admitted it has nuclear weapons, but international experts believe the Dimona reactor has allowed the Jewish state to manufacture around 200 nuclear warheads.
A health official from south Israel, meanwhile, told the radio station that the cancer rate among Bedouins in the area was "within the national average" but said there was no information available on the rate among workers at the plant.
Around 50 Dimona workers stricken with cancer protested outside the site in May.
Israel has another nuclear reactor at Nahal Sorek, south of Tel Aviv – Albawaba.com
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