Israel Opposed To Ratify The Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty
KABUL: (Middle East Press) According to the official report of the Provisional Technical Secretariat (PTS) of CTBT, Dr. Lassina Zerbo, executive secretary of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization, during his three-day visit to Palestine said no particular result of the ratification of CTBT was achieved.
Executive Secretary Lassina Zerbo met Yuval Steinitz, Israel’s Minister for Intelligence and Strategic Affairs and Shaul Chorev, Head of the Israel Atomic Energy Commission, as part of a three-day visit to Palestine. Zerbo also met with Tzipi Livni, former Minister of Justice and Foreign Affairs, as well as with other high-level officials.
He also briefed journalists in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and Ramat-Gan (on-site inspection workshop) and conducted numerous interviews with the BBC and Israeli media.
According to the Provisional Technical Secretariat of CTBT, during the meeting, Zerbo briefed the Israel’s Minister for Intelligence and Strategic Affairs and talked about the latest developments of CTBT organization, including progress report on IFE14s.
Israeli authorities showed strong reactions to what he said, including the reaction of Israel’s Atomic Energy Organization spokesman to Zerbo’s statements in an interview with Jerusalem Posts.
In this regard, the spokesman said bluntly: “The issue of ratification in Israel will be determined as a result of regional developments. Israel will decide on this issue according to its own interests. Israel is concerned about opposition of key countries in the region – Egypt and Iran- to operate on their soil CTBTO monitoring stations.”
