High Time To Talk About Israeli Nukes: Berlin-based Nuclear Expert

Berlin, Dec 7, IRNA -- Time has finally come to talk about Israels nuclear weapons following the recent landmark nuclear accord on Irans nuclear program, said a prominent Berlin-based nuclear expert in a commentary for the daily Frankfurter Rundschau newspaper. Whoever wants a Near and Middle East free of atomic weapons has to finally talk also about Israel, said Xanthe Hall who has worked for over two decades as a nuclear disarmament scholar at the German section of International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW). How about providing access to the atomic reactor at Dimona?, she asked rhetorically. Hall said the Iran nuclear agreement should serve as an example to Israel to be more transparent on its atomic program. She also urged Israel to voice its readiness to attend a conference on a Middle East free of weapons of mass destruction. In one of the worlds worst-kept secrets, the Zionist regime has reportedly turned into a nuclear giant. It is estimated to have hundreds of atomic weapons, an arsenal that ranks it fifth among nuclear powers and dwarfs the programs of India, Pakistan and North Korea. Muslim and non-aligned countries have repeatedly lambasted western hypocrisy in tolerating Israels atomic build-up while condemning Iran for its civilian, legal nuclear activities which is under full control of the UN nuclear watchdog./end