Israel sees no reason to sign 'ineffective' NPT

Jerusalem, May 7 (ANI): Israel has said that it has the capability to deter and defend itself against any threat or possible combination of threats.

Israel's policy of ambiguity with regard to its undeclared nuclear capability is not likely to change in the near future.

In April 2006, Dan Meridor, then a former justice minister and today a Likud minister in charge of intelligence agencies, presented a written version of Israel's defense doctrine to the government and the IDF.

Together with a panel of a couple of dozen former military and intelligence officers, Meridor had been asked by Sharon to formulate Israel's defense doctrine for the first time since the establishment of the state. One of the first recommendations was not to change the policy of nuclear ambiguity, reports the Jerusalem Post. The Nuclear Non-Proliferation-Treaty (NPT), which Israel was asked to sign on Tuesday by the assistant secretary of state, has for a long time been interpreted in Israel as a failure.

Established to stop the Germans from obtaining a nuclear weapon after World War II, the NPT was effective in South Africa's case - when the country abandoned its nuclear capability and signed the treaty - but has since, according to Israel, proven to be ineffective, particularly in two cases - Syria and Iran.

"What the Americans are doing is rude," said Major General (resigned) Ya'acov Amidror, who was a member of the Meridor panel that authored the defense doctrine. (ANI)