World - Reuters
Israel Sees UN Nuke Watchdog Chief Visit in July
Date: Wed Apr 28, 6:07 AM ET
JERUSALEM (Reuters) - U.N. nuclear watchdog chief Mohamed ElBaradei, who has called for Israel to dismantle a nuclear arsenal it has never admitted possessing, is expected to visit the country in July, an official said on Wednesday.
"This is a routine visit that has been in the works for months. We expect Mr ElBaradei to visit Israel in the summer, probably early July," Gabriella Gafni, Israel's permanent representative to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), told Reuters by telephone from Vienna, the U.N. agency's base.
She declined to give details of ElBaradei's agenda in Israel. An IAEA spokeswoman also declined to comment.
After meeting Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom last November, ElBaradei hinted Israel should sign the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and thereby open up its atomic sites to international inspections.
"In my view every country in the Middle East, including Israel, will benefit from establishing a nuclear-weapon-free zone in the Middle East as part and parcel of a comprehensive peace in the region," ElBaradei said then.
Israel has never signed the NPT and under a policy of "strategic ambiguity" neither confirms nor denies pursuing weapons of mass destruction. The policy is intended to warn off regional foes while avoiding an arms race.
Non-proliferation analysts estimate Israel has an arsenal of hundreds of nuclear weapons.
The United Nations (news - web sites) General Assembly and IAEA General Conference have adopted 13 resolutions since 1987 appealing to Israel to sign the NPT. All have been ignored.
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