ISRAEL: Wrapping up his two-day trip to Israel, the head of the UN nuclear watchdog agency, Dr Mohammed ElBaradei, said yesterday that for the first time an Israeli prime minister had declared a willingness to discuss a nuclear-free Middle East within the context of future talks on a comprehensive peace deal in the region.
"The prime minister affirmed to me that Israeli policy continues to be that in the context of peace in the Middle East, Israel will be looking forward to the establishment of a nuclear-weapons free zone in the Middle East," Dr ElBaradei said after meeting with Prime Minister Mr Ariel Sharon.
"That's the first time I hear that from the prime minister of Israel," he added.
"It's not a new policy, but affirming that policy at the level of prime minister I thought to be quite a welcome development."
That achievement is a highly modest one, especially since what Dr ElBaradei would really like is for Israel to lift its policy of "nuclear ambiguity," whereby the Jewish state neither denies nor admits to having nuclear weapons.
Foreign reports put Israel's nuclear arsenal at 100 to 200 warheads.
Israeli officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, emphasised that the government had no intention of dropping the country's longstanding "ambiguity" policy.
Israel believes this approach is a vital element in its deterrent policy regarding its foes in the region.