Study highlights Israeli nuclear threat to Middle East

In its efforts to warn against the dangers facing Arab security, the Zayed Centre for Coordination and Follow-Up recently released a study titled "The Fact and Fiction of Israel's Nuclear Weaponry".

A statement issued by the centre said the study comes at a time when Israel's nuclear programme, according to Israeli sources, is posing serious security and environmental threats to the Middle East, mainly because of the deteriorating state of the Daymona Nuclear Reactor due to lack of proper maintenance.

The study gives a historical account of Israel's nuclear programme, which began in the 1960s and developed through different stages, and its cooperation with France, the United States, South Africa and other countries, the statement said.

The study also points out that Israeli governments have deliberately enshrined in mystery the truth about their nuclear programme, its magnitude, whereabouts and purposes, leaving the door open to all kinds of speculation and views.

Ever since its creation, said the statement quoting the study, Israel has sought to own self-sufficient deterring nuclear weapons as a strategic choice and as a way to establish its military superiority in the region.

The study estimates that on the basis of logical calculations, the amount of plutonium produced at Daymona Nuclear Reactor is 805.2 kg, which is sufficient to make 139 standard nuclear bombs.

It also argues that Israel would use nuclear weapons only if it is forced to do so by acts of aggression where it starts to lose control.

Moreover, the nuclear option for Israel is further governed by several considerations as to the type and size of the bomb, the method of detonation and the possible damage area, which may include Israel itself.