Arab League vows to drop out of NPT if Israel admits it has nuclear weapons

[oberliner]

Arab countries will walk away from the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty if Israel ever officially acknowledges it has nuclear weapons, the Arab League announced in a statement Wednesday.

As Arab foreign ministers met at the Cairo headquarters of the Arab League to prepare for their annual summit at the end of the month, they also issued a series of statements on regional issues, including extremely sensitive matter of Israel's refusal to join the NPT.

As soon as Israel announces it has nuclear weapons, the Arabs will announce their withdrawal from the Nonproliferation Treaty, the statement said.

Israel is widely believed to be the only country in the Middle East to have nuclear weapons, though it maintains a policy of ambiguity, insisting it will not be the first to introduce nuclear weapons into the region, without confirming or denying their existence.

That policy was shaken late last year when Prime Minister Ehud Olmert appeared to acknowledge Israel's possession of nuclear weapons in an interview with German television. He later maintained he was misunderstood.

http://haaretz.com/hasen/spages/961275.html

[MercutioATC]

1. I thought that was a forgone conclusion.

I never realized they'd never actually admitted to it.

[MaryCeleste]

2. No they have not, though a recent statement by Olmert sure sounded like it

[MercutioATC]

3. I mean, we all know they have nukes, right?

Whether they officially admit it or not, nobody has any doubt that they have them, do they?