General Conference

GC(50)/18
Date: 12 September 2006

General Distribution
Original: English

Fiftieth regular session
Item 21 of the provisional agenda (GC(50)/1)

Israeli Nuclear Capabilities and Threat

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On 8 September 2006, the Director General received a letter dated 8 September 2006 from the Resident Representative of Israel to the Agency, relating to item 21 of the provisional agenda of the Conference, "Israeli nuclear capabilities and threat". As requested by the Resident Representative of Israel, that letter and its attachment are herewith circulated.

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GC(50)/18 Attachment Page 1

Text of letter dated 8 September 2006 from the Resident Representative of Israel

Referring to document GC(50)/17, dated 8 September 2006, I have the honor to forward you the position of Israel on the request to include an item entitled "Israeli nuclear capabilities and threat" in the agenda of the 50th General Conference (attached). I request that this letter and the attachment be circulated to all the IAEA Member States.

(signed) Israel Michaeli Ambassador to the IAEA

GC(50)/18 Attachment Page 2

Israel's Position on the Request to Include an Item Entitled "Israel's Nuclear Capabilities and Threat" on the Agenda of the 50th General Conference

The suggestion that this item will be included in the agenda for the upcoming General Conference is neither substantially warranted nor practically desirable. It neither addresses the most pressing proliferation concerns and the broader security implications, nor does it create a favourable climate for discussing issues in which the Agency's GC deliberations could play a constructive role. Furthermore, there is another agenda item on the "Application of IAEA safeguards in the Middle East" on which a resolution has been adopted by consensus for the last 14 years. While Israel has made no secret its fundamental reservations to the language and the modalities of this resolution, in the interest of sustaining the consensus on this resolution it has been willing to support it out of the belief that a Middle East free of weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missiles could eventually serve as an important complement to the overall efforts for peace, security and arms control in the region. The GC would be well advised to remove from its agenda this frivolous request on the socalled "Israeli Nuclear Capabilities and Threat", thereby sustaining the consensus on the "Application of IAEA safeguards in the Middle East" resolution.