Israeli Minister’s Nuke Comment ‘Raises Huge Number of Questions’

Israel has nuclear weapons but does not acknowledge they exist

By Dave DeCamp
Global Research, November 08, 2023
Antiwar.com 7 November 2023
Region:
Theme: ,
In-depth Report:

All Global Research articles can be read in 51 languages by activating the Translate Website button below the author’s name.

To receive Global Research’s Daily Newsletter (selected articles), click here.

Click the share button above to email/forward this article to your friends and colleagues. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter and subscribe to our Telegram Channel. Feel free to repost and share widely Global Research articles.

***

Russia’s Foreign Ministry said Tuesday that an Israeli minister’s comments about nuking Gaza raised questions about Israel’s unofficial nuclear arsenal.

Israeli Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu made the comments on Sunday, saying there are no innocent civilians in Gaza and that dropping nuclear weapons on the enclave is an option for Israel.

Israel is estimated to have somewhere between 90 and 300 nuclear warheads but does not acknowledge its arsenal. Eliyahu’s comments appeared to confirm that Israel has nuclear weapons, going against the Israeli government’s policy of ambiguity on the issue.

“It raised a huge number of questions,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said about Eliyahu’s comments. “The number one question is, did we hear an official declaration that [Israel] has nuclear weapons? Consequently, the next questions that everyone had were: Where are the international organizations, where is the IAEA, where are the inspectors?”

Zakharova also asked where Israel has conducted nuclear tests.

“If this program exists and existed, where were the tests conducted, at what testing grounds? Obviously, apparently not in the region, then where? And isn’t the United States behind all this?” she said.

The US also maintains a policy of ambiguity concerning Israel’s nuclear weapons program. In 2021, Axios reported that President Biden and then-Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett renewed a decades-old informal agreement on Israel’s nukes.

Every US president since Nixon has agreed not to press Israel to sign the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), and in return, Israel agrees not to declare its nuclear arsenal and operate the program covertly.

The ambiguity allows the US to give Israel aid, which is technically illegal due to the existence of Israel’s nuclear arsenal. Under foreign assistance laws, the US cannot provide aid to nuclear-armed states that refuse to sign the NPT.

*

Note to readers: Please click the share button above. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter and subscribe to our Telegram Channel. Feel free to repost and share widely Global Research articles.

Dave DeCamp is the news editor of Antiwar.com, follow him on Twitter @decampdave.

Featured image: File photo provided by Wikipedia shows Israel’s nuclear-capable Jericho II missile carrying the Shavit rocket, which is used for launching satellites into orbit.
Articles by: Dave DeCamp

Disclaimer: The contents of this article are of sole responsibility of the author(s). The Centre for Research on Globalization will not be responsible for any inaccurate or incorrect statement in this article. The Centre of Research on Globalization grants permission to cross-post Global Research articles on community internet sites as long the source and copyright are acknowledged together with a hyperlink to the original Global Research article. For publication of Global Research articles in print or other forms including commercial internet sites, contact: [email protected]

www.globalresearch.ca contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available to our readers under the provisions of "fair use" in an effort to advance a better understanding of political, economic and social issues. The material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving it for research and educational purposes. If you wish to use copyrighted material for purposes other than "fair use" you must request permission from the copyright owner.

For media inquiries: [email protected]