Original source URL: http://www.aljazeera.com/me.asp?service_id=11988 West foiled Arab bid to declare Israel atomic threat 9/24/2006 7:00:00 AM GMT Western nations foiled a bid by Arab and Islamic states on Friday to declare Israel's nuclear arsenal a threat that must be eliminated in a politically charged vote at a UN atomic watchdog meeting, reported Reuters. 15 Arab countries prepared a draft resolution on behalf of the Arab League to the International Atomic Energy Agency meeting concerning "Israel's nuclear capacities and threats", senior diplomat of an Arab country revealed to Agence France Press, adding that the draft resolution also won the backing of Indonesia, Iran, Cuba, Malaysia and Venezuela. The text, according to the Arab diplomat urges the Jewish State to ratify the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. Canada sponsored a 45-29 "no-action" ballot that blocked an IAEA vote on the motion demanding Israel use atomic energy only for peaceful purposes, preparing for a Middle East nuclear arms-free zone. 89-2 voted for a ³milder resolution² on Israel, according to Reuters. Israel insists that a nuclear weapons-free zone in the Middle East can only happen after a regional peace agreement. "The (Western) blocking maneuver is astonishing when innocent blood has not yet dried in Lebanon," said Syrian delegate Ibrahim Othman, adding that allowing Israel have nuclear weapons is a destabilizing imbalance of power in the Middle East region. One Western diplomat had been quoted as saying that "if the draft resolution is kept on the agenda, there is also a good chance it will be adopted." That would tarnish the credibility of Western powers, currently trying to get the IAEA Board of Governors to adopt a resolution against Iran's nuclear program, for it would uncover the double standard applied in the cases of Israel and Iran with one being protected as a military nuclear power who refuses to sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, while the other is being prevented even to exercise its rights under the NPT for peaceful development of nuclear technology. Israel neither admits nor denies having nuclear weapons, it has long stubbornly rejected international inspections of Dimona, Israel's main nuclear power plant. Related stories... World opinion opposes use of force against Iran World opinion opposes the use of force against Iran to halt its nuclear program, according to a global poll published on Thursday. -- -------------------------------------------------------- Escaping the Matrix website http://escapingthematrix.org/ cyberjournal website http://cyberjournal.org subscribe cyberjournal list mailto:•••@••.••• Posting archives http://cyberjournal.org/show_archives/ Blogs: cyberjournal forum http://cyberjournal-rkm.blogspot.com/ Achieving real democracy http://harmonization.blogspot.com/ for readers of ETM http://matrixreaders.blogspot.com/ Community Empowerment http://empowermentinitiatives.blogspot.com/ Blogger made easy http://quaylargo.com/help/ezblogger.html
