IAEA Refuses To Denounce Israel As Nuclear Threat

http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/7000348780

Niladri Sekhar Nath - All Headline News Foreign Correspondent
October 1, 2005 4:01 p.m. EST

Vienna, Austria (AHN) - The UN atomic watchdog is unanimously demanding a nuclear-weapons-free zone (NWFZ) in the Middle East, reports AFP.

However, it is turning down an Arab appeal to denounce Israel as a nuclear threat. Israel is said to be the only nuclear weapons state in the Middle East. Meanwhile, Israel hails the idea of such a zone but said it supports "achieving regional peace and security, not arms control per se."

According to AFP report, a general conference of the 139-nation International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) passes a resolution appreciating North Korea's agreement to dump nuclear weapons and pleads Pyongyang to let IAEA inspectors back into the country.

Egyptian ambassador Ramzy Ezzeldin Ramzy says that the resolution on a NWFZ invites Israel "to join the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and to accept that its various facilities be subject to the IAEA safeguards system."

"Unfortunately this resolution will not be sufficient to ensure... the denuclearization of this region. A policy of double standards will continue throughout the world," AFP quoted Jordanian ambassador Shebab Madi as saying.