Iranian nuclear move meant to fend off action: Israel
JERUSALEM |
JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak said on Thursday Iran's announcement of new nuclear achievements was exaggerated and meant to fend off action against the Islamic republic.
"They are describing a situation that is better and more advanced than the one they are in, in order to create a feeling among all the players that the point of no return is already behind them, which is not true," Barak told Israel Radio.
Iran on Wednesday proclaimed advances in nuclear know-how, including new centrifuges able to enrich uranium much faster, a move that may heighten its confrontation with the West over suspicions it is seeking the means to make atomic bombs.
Barak said those announcements were meant to create an impression that any action taken by world powers to curb Iran's nuclear program would be too late. Iran says it is enriching uranium for peaceful purposes.
Tension between Iran and the West over Iran's nuclear work has mounted since November, when the United Nations' International Atomic Energy Agency said Tehran appeared to have worked on designing a nuclear weapon.
Israel, widely believed to be the Middle East's only atomic power, has said a nuclear-armed Iran would be a threat to its existence. Both Washington and Israel have not ruled out military action to stop Teheran developing atomic bombs.
"They are definitely making progress, but in order to deter anyone dealing with them, or perhaps even to make this seem superfluous, they are priding themselves on achievements that do not yet exist," Barak said.
The United States, which called Wednesday's Iranian announcement of nuclear progress "not terribly new and not terribly impressive," and the European Union have imposed tighter sanctions in recent weeks on both Iran's oil exports and
international financial transactions with Tehran.
Israel has called for tougher sanctions.
(Writing by Maayan Lubell; editing by Crispian Balmer)
- Tweet this
- Link this
- Share this
- Digg this
- Reprints
Your short sighted, paranoid and arrogant politicians made that bed and you have to lie in it.
You know you could not get overt permission to bomb the crap out of Iran for your “peace of mind” and you have a mind that is never at peace. It does not pay, apparently, not to have an excuse for territorial aggrandizement. Is it possible that Judaism cannot exist without an external threat?
Keep it up and you will almost succeed at making antisemitism fashionable. And I’m sick to death of hearing about your dead relatives. But most people now are not (perhaps due to those memorials) as callous or selfish as those numerous museums and memorials imply.
It is becoming very obvious that the State of Israel doesn’t seem to believe it’s own rhetoric.
This is from the UN news bulletin of 1-13-12.
UN HUMAN RIGHTS EXPERT CALLS FOR URGENT REVISION OF ISRAELI HOUSING POLICIES
An independent United Nations human rights expert today called on Israel to revise its housing policies, saying they have failed to respond to the needs of minorities and the socially disadvantaged.
The recent privatization, deregulation and commercialization of public assets in Israel “have resulted in urban and housing policies that made it increasingly difficult for low-income families to obtain affordable accommodation, violating their right to adequate housing,” stated Raquel Rolnik, the Special Rapporteur on the right to adequate housing.
She called on Israeli authorities to urgently revise their housing policies, saying that while they have had an impressive record of providing adequate housing for waves of Jewish immigrants and refugees, today they failed to respond to the needs of minorities and the socially disadvantaged.
The expert – who just concluded a two-week visit to Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory – said that Israeli Arabs as well as Palestinians living under military occupation are also affected by ongoing threats against their right to housing.
“Throughout my visit, I was able to witness a land development model that excludes, discriminates against and displaces minorities in Israel which is being replicated in the occupied territory, affecting Palestinian communities,” she said.
The plans for relocating Bedouins in the Negev – inside Israel – as well as decades of promotion of Jewish settlements in the West Bank and in Palestinian neighbourhoods in East Jerusalem – “are the new frontiers of dispossession of traditional inhabitants, and the implementation of a strategy of Judaization and control of the territory,” stated Ms. Rolnik.
“Throughout my visit I received repeated complaints regarding lack of housing, threats of demolitions and evictions, overcrowding, the disproportional number of demolitions affecting Palestinian communities side by side with the accelerated development of predominantly Jewish settlements,” she added.
The right to housing is further denied in the occupied Palestinian territory, according to the expert, who noted that in East Jerusalem and the areas of the West Bank under Israeli military control, policies adopted by Israel restrict Palestinians from building legally through various means.
“The number of permits issued is grossly disproportional to housing needs leading many Palestinians to build without obtaining a permit. As a result, numerous Palestinians homes or extensions to these are considered illegal so that the inhabitants are subjected to eviction orders and the demolition of their houses.”
At the same time, Ms. Rolnik noted that settlements, built in violation of international law, have led to a decrease in the amount of land and resources available to Palestinians.
The situation is even worse in Gaza, the rights expert said, noting that the blockade to Gaza Strip constitutes the most extreme expression of separation and restriction to Palestinian communities’ survival and expansion.
“I urge Israel to end the blockade in order to ensure that the minimum needs of the population living in Gaza are met,” she stated.
Ms. Rolnik reports to the Geneva-based UN Human Rights Council in an independent and unpaid capacity. She will submit her full report on her mission to Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory next year.
This is exactly what Israel has done by creating nuclear weapons and denying the truth and not letting inspectors in.
Israel has a beautiful opportunity to create peace and garnish world support for them. If Israel was vocal for peace and announced they would give up their nuclear weapons if Pakistan and India did the same – you would have overnight world support for Israel and an international push for the clearing of any nuclear activity in the Middle East.
Other than that – Israel’s provocation of Iran and other world nations will be met with increased vigor to “even the playing field” to deal with Israel’s scary strike first – just in case they are a threat.
Israel is on a road to self destruction. Most Israelis want peace, however are not going to have it with these religious zealots setting their direction in their political system. They are a mirror of Iran.
Follow Reuters