Arab push to pressurize Israel thwarted at U.N. nuclear watchdog
Israel has never confirmed or denied having nuclear weapons under a policy of ambiguity.
VIENNA (Reuters) - An Arab bid to pressurize Israel over its assumed nuclear arsenal failed on Thursday after Washington and other powers united to reject it at the U.N. atomic watchdog s annual gathering.
The extent of the rejection - with a larger number of no s than a similar vote last year - will reassure Israel, whose relationship with the United States and other traditional allies has been strained by their support for a nuclear settlement with its enemy Iran.
The Israeli Prime Minister s office described the rejection of the motion - which called on Israel to join a global anti-nuclear weapons pact - as a "great victory" for its diplomatic efforts.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had told world leaders before the vote: "There is no room for a debate of this sort while the main problem in the Middle East is Iran s attempts to arm itself with nuclear weapons and its clear declarations of its intention to destroy the state of Israel."
Nineteen predominantly Arab states wanted the International Atomic Energy Agency s member states to express concern over Israel s nuclear capabilities, call on it to join the 1970 nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and have the agency regularly report on Israel s nuclear program.
Israel has never confirmed or denied having nuclear weapons under a policy of ambiguity aimed at deterring longtime Arab and Muslim adversaries.
On Thursday 61 countries voted against the Arab-drafted resolution, 43 in favor and 33 abstained.
Last year, 58 countries voted against the initiative, itself a clearer outcome than in a similar vote a year earlier.
Israel is the only Middle Eastern country outside the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. It has said it will only consider joining once it is at peace with its Arab neighbors and Iran.
