The Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Mohamed ElBaradei, has called on Israel to relinquish its nuclear weapons as part of a general peace accord in the Middle East.
In an interview with the Tel Aviv-based Haaretz newspaper, published on friday, ElBaradei said Israel should follow the path taken by South Africa, the first and only state to part from its nuclear arsenal, when its weapons were destroyed under IAEA supervision in 1989.
ElBaradei said he recommends that Israel join the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). He noted that in spite of Israel's policy of not publicly acknowledging possession of nuclear weapons, "we operate under the assumption that Israel has nuclear arms. Israel has never denied this," he said told the Israeli daily.
The senior UN diplomat said the notion that Israel is safer today with nuclear weapons than it was 50 years ago is incorrect. (Albawaba.com)
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