[URL]http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8610595.stm[/URL]
[URL]http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2010/04/2010490224513329.html[/URL]
[quote][IMG]http://english.aljazeera.net/mritems/Images//2010/3/23/20103232573213734_5.jpg[/IMG]
Netanyahu pulled out after reportedly learning that Israel's presumed arsenal would be raised [Reuters]
Israel's prime minister has cancelled plans to attend next week's Washington summit on nuclear security hosted by Barack Obama, the US president.
Binyamin Netanyahu made the decision after learning that Egypt and Turkey planned to raise the issue of Israel's presumed nuclear arsenal at the conference, a senior Israeli government official was quoted as saying late on Thursday.
Israel will instead send a delegation headed by Dan Meridor, the country's Intelligence and Atomic Energy Minister, to the two-day summit which begins on Monday.
The agenda is expected to include talks on how to secure loose nuclear material and prevent it falling into the hands of terrorists.
Israel is believed to be the only nuclear-armed power in the Middle East but has never confirmed or denied that it possesses atomic weapons.
It has also not signed the Nuclear non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).
"The prime minister has decided to cancel his trip to Washington to attend the nuclear conference next week, after learning that some countries including Egypt and Turkey plan to say Israel must sign the NPT," Reuters quoted an unnamed official as telling reporters.
According to Israeli media, Netanyahu's chage of mind followed fears that countries attending the summit would try to shift its focus from nuclear terrorism to a concerted attack on his country's presumed nuclear weapons capacity.
Earlier this week, announcing his initial intention to fly to Washington, Netanyahu told a Jerusalem news conference that he did not expect to face pressure over Israel's nuclear programme.
"I'm not concerned that anyone would think that Israel is a terrorist regime," he said.
"Everybody knows a terrorist and rogue regime when they see one, and believe me, they see quite a few around Israel."
Netanyahu's decision to pull out of the talks comes at a tense time in US-Israel relations, following a particularly frosty row over Israel's construction of settlements in East Jerusalem and its approach to the Middle East peace process.
Obama and Netanyahu held talks on the issue at the White House last month, but failed to make any progress.
Al Jazeera's correspondent Jacky Rowland, reporting from Jerusalem, said that "Israel remains very sensitive about whether it does or does not possess a nuclear programme".
Staying away
"However, when Israel attends any international forum, it is very happy to take the floor and talk about Iran's nuclear programme, and warn the world about what it sees as the 'Iranian nuclear threat'", she said.
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Israel has never confirmed or denied that it has developed nuclear weapons [EPA]
"But when other countries discuss Israel's nuclear capabilities and how they see it as a problem, it could be embarrassing for the prime minister to be present, which is possibly why he has decided to stay away."
Although the gathering of 47 countries at the nuclear security summit will not focus on individual nations, the nuclear programmes of Iran and North Korea - and possible new UN sanctions against Tehran - are expected to be discussed in Obama's bilateral meetings with various leaders attending the meeting.
Among those expected to attend the summit are Hu Jintao, the Chinese president, Dmitry Medvedev, the Russian president, Nicolas Sarkozy, the French president and Angela Merkel, the German chancellor.
Also represented will be India and Pakistan, which never signed the NPT but have atomic arsenals.
The inclusion of Pakistan, diplomats say, is important since it is one of the countries that has pledged to improve its internal safeguards over its nuclear weapons.
Two nations excluded from the meeting are Iran, which the United States and its Western allies accuse of pursuing nuclear weapons, and North Korea, which withdrew from the NPT in 2003 and has twice tested nuclear devices.[/quote][quote]
[B]Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu has cancelled a visit to the US where he was to attend a summit on nuclear security, Israeli officials say.[/B]
Mr Netanyahu made the decision after learning that Egypt and Turkey intended to raise the issue of Israel's presumed nuclear arsenal, the officials said.
Mr Obama is due to host dozens of world leaders at the two-day conference, which begins in Washington on Monday.
Israel has never confirmed or denied that it possesses atomic weapons.
Israel's Intelligence and Atomic Energy Minister Dan Meridor will take Netanyahu's place in the nuclear summit, Israeli radio said.
More than 40 countries are expected at the meeting, which will focus on preventing the spread of nuclear weapons to militant groups.
[B]Iran's issue[/B]
According to Israeli officials, Turkey and Egypt are planning to call on Israel to sign the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).
"These states intend to exploit the occasion in order to slam Israel," said a senior Israeli source.
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"The prime minister expressed his displeasure over these intentions, and he will therefore not be travelling to the summit."
Mr Netanyahu has said his main priority is dealing with Iran's supposed intention to develop both warheads and long-range missiles capable of hitting Israel.
Along with India, Pakistan and North Korea, Israel is one of just four states that have not signed up to the NPT, which has 189 signatories.
Earlier this week, President Obama unveiled the new Nuclear Posture Review - which narrows the circumstances in which the US would use nuclear weapons - outlining his country's long-term strategy of nuclear disarmament.
On Thursday, the US president and his Russian counterpart, Dmitry Medvedev, signed a landmark nuclear arms treaty in the Czech capital, Prague.
That treaty commits the former Cold War enemies to reduce the number of deployed strategic warheads to 1,550 each - 30% lower than the previous ceiling.
The BBC's Kim Ghattas in Washington says the cancellation of Mr Netanyahu's Washington visit comes at a time of frosty relations between the two states.
The Israeli premier failed to see eye-to-eye with Mr Obama during his most recent US visit last month on the stalled Israeli-Palestinian peace process, our correspondent adds.
Washington criticised the building of Jewish homes in East Jerusalem, which prompted the Palestinians to pull out of US-brokered indirect peace talks.
There were also reports that one of Mr Netanyahu's confidants called Mr Obama a "disaster" for Israel.[/quote][release]ANALYSIS
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[B]Paul Wood
BBC News, Jerusalem[/B]
Mr Netanyahu's decision is on the face of it quite odd. After all, he must have expected some focus on Israel's own nuclear programme at this conference.
Indeed, he acknowledged this possibility two days ago when he announced he would attend. He said that since Israel was not a terrorist or a rogue state, he had nothing to fear.
Certainly Israel is worried about pressure to join the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, or NPT. That is something which will increasingly become an issue since the Israelis have also announced their intention to build a civilian nuclear power station to deal with a severe electricity shortage.
But what about Israel's nuclear weapons? The former US President, Jimmy Carter, who is certainly in a position to know, has said the Israelis have [B]at least 150 warheads.[/B]
Mr Netanyahu has said his main priority in office is dealing with Iran's supposed intentions to develop both warheads and long range missiles capable of hitting Israel. In these circumstances, Mr Netanyahu thinks it more vital than ever to protect his own weapons programme.[/release]
Hasn't he been skipping a lot of conferences lately?
Israel is being a superior nationalist dick. Their hate towards the palestinians is similar to that of Nazi hatred toward Jews.
Fucking ironic.
They're Israel, they're assholes, what's new?
[editline]02:55AM[/editline]
[QUOTE=Wakka;21342340]Israel is being a superior nationalist dick. Their hate towards the palestinians is similar to that of Nazi hatred toward Jews.
Fucking ironic.[/QUOTE]
It'd be ironic if sometime in the past Palestinians massacred Germans.
Ultimate Irony.
No surprise here. The best protection Israel has is its nukes, of course they won't get rid of them with all the other countries that hate them.
[QUOTE=Howlthrug;21342381]No surprise here. The best protection Israel has is its nukes, of course they won't get rid of them with all the other countries that hate them.[/QUOTE]
Because you can nuke protestors right?
No, but you can nuke Terrorists that are bombing your country every day.
No you can't.
[editline]06:15PM[/editline]
I mean that's not possible, terrorists don't hide thousands of kilometers away from cities training or something.
[QUOTE=CheeseMan;21342414]Because you can nuke protestors right?[/QUOTE]
You don't understand what a deterrence is? If you can't nuke another country, why do Russia and the US have stockpiles of these weapons.
As another user has said, the essence behind the decision not to participate in nuclear armament talks is because it's Israel's greatest help to securing their nation.
[editline]05:18PM[/editline]
This is just going to turn into another "hate on Israel without using logic" thread. Facepunch does well in these threads.
[QUOTE=Wakka;21342340]Israel is being a superior nationalist dick. Their hate towards the palestinians is similar to that of Nazi hatred toward Jews.
Fucking ironic.[/QUOTE]
Hitler put them in the ghettos and now they are fencing out Palestinians...
To be honest I do agree with Israel having nukes to an extent. I just hope they don't stockpile a ridiculous amount and take the world for a ride.
Isreal can definitely afford nukes :ohdear:
What is the western world going to do
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