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CAIRO: The head of the Arab League said on Saturday that Israel, which is widely believed to have a nuclear weapons capability, should be put under pressure to follow Libya’s decision to abandon weapons of mass destruction.
Arabs have often complained that the international community has ignored Israel’s atomic ambitions while holding others to account. Israel has not signed the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and has never officially admitted to having such arms.
“The Libyan position confirms the importance of pressuring Israel to comply with all laws banning nuclear proliferation and joining the NPT,” Amr Moussa, head of the Cairo-based league, was quoted as saying by Egypt’s Middle East News Agency (MENA).
“It is not logical to make an exception or to be tolerant of Israel on this issue,” Moussa said.
Libya’s decision showed Arabs were serious about creating a region free of weapons of mass destruction, he added.
An Israeli official called Libya’s decision a positive move.
“Definitely it is very positive because the Middle East will maybe become a safer place... but we have to see what we are talking about. It is premature,” the official said.
Egypt, one of the most influential states in the Arab world, said Libya’s decision was an example to others in the region.
“Egypt welcomes it and hopes other states in the region will follow,” Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher told reporters, without identifying any other countries.
IAEA CONCERN: Prior to Libya’s announcement, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) had been concerned about signs Tripoli wanted to develop atomic weapons, diplomats said on Friday.
A British official said Libya had not acquired a nuclear bomb, “though it was close to developing one”.
Several Western diplomats said there were indications Libya had been trying to gather a team of nuclear experts from ex-communist states in central and eastern Europe in what looked like the beginnings of a future nuclear weapons programme.
This had not escaped the attention of the IAEA, one diplomat said.
“Segments of the IAEA have become very concerned about Libya,” one Western diplomat said, adding that the IAEA’s safeguards department had been “especially concerned”.
The IAEA’s safeguards department is charged with monitoring NPT signatories’ civilian nuclear programmes to ensure resources are not diverted to clandestine military programmes.
Another diplomat said there had been signs Tripoli had embarked on a “procurement programme” linked to developing nuclear weapons, though he gave no details of the procurement effort.
The British official said a British team working with the Libyans had seen nuclear projects under way at more than 10 sites, including the enrichment of uranium. It also saw dual-use sites with the potential to support work on biological weapons.—Reuters
