- JERUSALEM (Reuters) -- The
head of the U.N. nuclear watchdog visits Israel this week and is expected
to press for serious talks about ridding the Middle East of nuclear weapons.
-
- It is the first visit by Mohamed ElBaradei, director
general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), since 1998.
-
- Israel neither admits nor denies that it has nuclear
weapons. Below are some facts about its assumed arsenal.
-
- THE WEAPONS
-
- Analysts concluded Israel had produced as many as 200
nuclear weapons on the basis of disclosures from nuclear whistleblower
Mordechai Vanunu to a British newspaper in 1986 -- making Israel the world's
fifth biggest nuclear power.
-
- Recent U.S. intelligence assessments put the arsenal
at around 80 missiles.
-
- There have been no major security leaks since Vanunu
gave information about the reactor in the desert town of Dimona.
-
- DELIVERY SYSTEMS
-
- Analysts believe Israel developed two rudimentary atomic
bombs before the 1967 Middle East war.
-
- Since then, Israel has gained long-range delivery systems
such as missiles, submarines and warplanes, according to analysts citing
satellite images.
-
- Some experts believe Israel also has "tactical"
nuclear arms -- mine-sized bombs that could turn battles without causing
widespread devastation.
-
- "STRATEGIC AMBIGUITY"
-
- Israel maintains a policy known as "strategic ambiguity"
around its non-conventional capabilities to ward off regional foes while
trying to avoid an arms race.
-
- While Iraq and Libya are known to have unsuccessfully
pursued nuclear weapons, Israel is believed to be the only country in the
Middle East to have them.
-
- Israel and the United States accuse Iran of pursuing
nuclear weapons, a charge that Tehran vehemently denies.
-
- INSPECTIONS
-
- Like India and Pakistan, Israel did not sign the 1970
U.N. Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), so the IAEA
has no mandate to inspect its Dimona facility.
-
- According to historians, Israel received U.S. assurances
in 1969 that it would not be pressured to sign the NPT if it refrained
from conducting a nuclear test.
-
- The IAEA would welcome it if Israel opened its facilities
to inspection, but ElBaradei has said he would not lecture the Israelis
on whether they should acknowledge having atom bombs.
-
- Copyright © 2004 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.
Republication or redistribution of Reuters content is expressly prohibited
without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable
for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance
thereon.
-
- http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L04399463.htm
|
