Qatar reiterated its call for intensified international efforts Saturday to subject all of Israel’s nuclear facilities to the safeguards of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
The remarks from Qatar’s Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the UN Office of International Organizations in Vienna, Jasim Yacoub Al Hammadi, before the IAEA Board of Governors session in Vienna, according to a statement from the Qatari Foreign Ministry.
Al Hammadi highlighted “the need for the international community and its institutions to uphold their commitments under resolutions of the UN Security Council, the UN General Assembly, the IAEA, and the 1995 Review Conference of the NPT (Treaty on Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons), which called on Israel to subject all of its nuclear facilities to IAEA safeguards.”
He pointed out that "that some of these resolutions explicitly urged Israel to join the NPT as a non-nuclear state." “All Middle Eastern countries, except Israel, are parties to the NPT and have effective safeguard agreements with the Agency,” he said.
Al Hammadi highlighted “the urgency for the international community and its institutions to take decisive action to compel Israel to implement international resolutions, recognise the Palestinian people's right to self-determination and the establishment of their independent state, restore security and stability in the Middle East, and avert further global risks.”
The West is silent about Israel's programme
It is not the first time Qatar has demanded Israel’s accession to the NPT and the submission of its nuclear facilities to IAEA oversight.
The demands were previously raised during Qatar’s participation in the 67th IAEA General Conference in Vienna in September 2023.
The IAEA Board of Governors’ quarterly session was held in Vienna from March 3 - 7, 2024.
Israel was able to produce nuclear weapons by the end of the 1960s.
It is estimated that there are about 90 plutonium-based nuclear warheads in the country and Israel has produced enough plutonium for 100-200 weapons, according to unofficial data from the Center for Nuclear Arms Control and Non-Proliferation.
It is noteworthy that Western countries, which put pressure on Iran, a party to the NPT, and North Korea, which is not a party to either treaty and whose nuclear facilities are under inspection because it has accepted a Security Inspection Treaty, are silent about Israel's nuclear programme.
The deep dig site comes as Israel criticises Iran’s nuclear programme, which remains under UN watch, unlike the Israeli one, which remains undeclared.
