(UnitedVoice.com) – Israel has faced a great deal of backlash from the international community over the last several years. Critics have expressed anger over the nation’s methods of addressing its conflict with Palestine and its settlements in the West Bank. The Jewish-majority nation has faced an incredible amount of criticism. Even the United Nations has gotten involved and condemned the country.
Now, Israel is facing criticism for its weapons stockpile. The UN has made a shocking demand of the nation, and the United States has refused to support it.
Shocking Request
On Wednesday, December 7, the United Nations General Assembly First Committee voted to call on Israel to sign the Nuclear Proliferation Treaty. The vote was incredibly lopsided, with 149 countries joining together to make the demand, and just six nations, including the US, voting against the resolution. Liberia, Palau, Micronesia, Canada, and, of course, Israel voted against the measure.
According to Breitbart, the resolution would require Israel “not to develop, produce, test or otherwise acquire nuclear weapons.” Additionally, it also demanded that the nation give up the weapons it currently has and allow the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to take control of the “unsafeguarded [sic] nuclear facilities.”
The latest vote was similar to the one that occurred in October. In that vote, 152 countries called on Israel to allow the IAEA to take control of the nation’s stockpile of weapons.
Israeli Nuclear Capabilities
It’s widely believed the nation has somewhere between 80 and 400 nuclear-capable warheads. The country has had weapons in its stockpile since the 1960s, but it has an official policy of nuclear opacity. That means the Israeli government neither confirms nor denies the existence of a nuclear program.
When asked, Israel’s leaders have repeatedly said it “will not be the first nation to introduce nuclear weapons into the region.”
While the country has never acknowledged possession of nuclear weapons, it would make sense that it has them. Middle Eastern nations that don’t believe it even has the right to exist surround Israel. Iran, one of its biggest threats, has become more volatile in recent years, creating a perilous situation for the Israeli people. Then there are the persistent and repeated attacks from Palestine.
The United Nations vote didn’t goad Israel into acknowledging its program either. It has stayed firm and continued to maintain its policy of opacity. That’s unlikely to change, no matter how many times the international body holds a vote.
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