nuclear symbol
nuclear symbolIsrael news photo

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu denounced as “hypocritical” a United Nations resolution calling for a nuclear-free Middle East and said Israel will not participate in a planned conference by members of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). The resolution did not mention Iran.

"This resolution is deeply flawed and hypocritical. It ignores the realities of the Middle East and the real threats facing the region and the entire world," government spokesmen stated in Toronto, where Prime Minister Netanyahu is visiting. "It singles out Israel, the Middle East's only true democracy and the only country threatened with annihilation. Given the distorted nature of this resolution, Israel will not be able to take part in its implementation."

NPT members agreed to a draft resolution on Friday after the United States withdrew its objections to the draft that points out "the importance of Israel's accession to the treaty and the placement of all its nuclear facilities under comprehensive IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) safeguards."

The resolution calls for a conference in 2012 but did not mention Iran, which Israel and the United States are sure is trying to use its nuclear program to develop and manufacture a nuclear warhead to be aimed at Israel.

The draft also does not mention India and Pakistan, which have nuclear weapons but, like Israel, have not signed the NPT. Israel continues its policy of “ambiguity,” which neither confirms nor denies that it possesses nuclear weapons. Most analysts assume that the Jewish State has at least 200 atomic bombs or warheads.

U.S. President Barack Obama criticized the draft agreement even though American delegates gave up trying to block the wording in order to prevent a collapse in the negotiations to propose a resolution. The president stated, "We strongly oppose efforts to single out Israel, and will oppose actions that jeopardize Israel's national security" even though the resolution itself represents another victory for the anti-Israel movement aimed at weakening Israel's existence.

Pro-Israel leaders warned last month that President Obama was making a mistake in agreeing to an Egyptian demand to discuss the idea of a nuclear-free Middle East, a discernible change from the attitude of the Bush administration..