Israel's nuclear program: the art of saying yes and no together

Israel said Tuesday it would accept the establishment of a committee with which it can negotiate the terms to halt the production of fissionable material for military use but refused to commit itself in advance to allowing international inspection of its maximum security nuclear reactor at Dimona.

Senior officials described the decision as "the most important strategic decision reached by Netanyahu." Observers in Israel believe the decision to was meant to defuse international criticism of Israel's nuclear program without having to be committed to potential resolutions taken by the committee.

On Thursday last week, Israeli sources said, US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright had a discussion with Netanyahu and pressured him to announce that Israel will sign the pact which prohibits the manufacture of materials needed for the deployment of nuclear bombs.

The ratification of the pact controlling nuclear armament programs depended upon the consent of 61 countries. Following intensive international pressure, Pakistan recently agreed to sign the pact, leaving Israel as the only country that has yet to agree.

Diplomatic sources in Israel noted that the US had no option but to pressure Israel to announce some form of acceptance of the pact. Israel will not oppose the establishment of an international committee on this subject, but this doesn't mean that it will agree to join the pact.