Downer’s cover-up on Israel’s possession of weapons of mass destruction deliberate
The Head of the General Palestinian Delegation to Australia, Mr Ali Kazak said today the Foreign Minister Alexander
Downer’s failure to mention Israel, when asked of other countries in the Middle East that possess weapons of mass
destruction at the National Press Gallery luncheon and what actions were going to be taken towards them, was deliberate
and convenient so Mr Downer would not have to explain Australia’s silence and tolerance of Israel’s possession of
weapons of mass destruction.
“How could Mr Downer fail to mention the country which has the largest stockpile of nuclear, chemical and biological
weapons in the Middle East and the sixth largest stockpile worldwide and poses an enormous danger to the Middle East and
the world at large?
“Mr Downer’s cover-up on Israel reveals once again the bias and problem of Australia’s Middle East policy and the
double-standard it adopts when dealing with Israel.
A recent US report The Third Temple’s Holy of Holies: Israel’s Nuclear Weapons issued by the Maxwell Air Force Base in
Alabama states Israel’s nuclear arsenal has grown from an estimated 13 nuclear bombs in 1967 to 400 nuclear and
thermonuclear weapons. It possesses missiles which are capable of reaching any city anywhere in the world with the
support of its military satellites and even Israel’s navy could deploy nuclear weapons on the fleet of three
German-built submarines.
“Israel refuses to accept international inspection of its weapons facilities and refuses to be committed to the Nuclear
Non-proliferation Treaty, despite repeated resolutions by the UN General Assembly and the Security Council to place its
nuclear facilities under the International Atomic Energy Agency safeguards. All Arab countries have signed the NNPT.
“Israel used chemical weapons such as napalm and phosphorous bombs in its 1967 and 1982 wars and attempted to
assassinate a Hamas leader in Jordan with a biological weapon in 1997. Israel threatened to use nuclear warheads against
the Arab countries, put its nuclear warheads on full alert in the 1973 war and Israeli officials recently threatened to
use weapons of mass destruction against Iraq.
“Underlining the real danger in the Middle East is Israel’s Prime Minister General Sharon’s history of massacres and war
crimes as well as the fact that Israel’s religious fanatics and extremists, who assassinated their own prime minister
Rabin, are found everywhere, including in the nuclear weapons industry and its control rooms. Weapons of mass
destruction are already in the hands of very dangerous people.
“Israel has defied 87 Security Council resolutions relevant to the Palestine question since 1948, 37 of which
specifically relate to the 1967-occupied Palestinian territories.
“It is time Australia put an end to its double standard and hypocrisy and employ the same set of principles to all
countries including Israel. International law and UN resolutions must be implemented on all. Israel should not be
allowed to continue to be above international law.