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<h1 class="gmail-single_title">The implications of supporting Israel\u2019s ambiguity policy on its nuclear weapons</h1>
<div class="gmail-article-author"><h3>By <a href="https://english.palinfo.com/?p=250011"> Ramona Wadi </a></h3></div>
<p class="gmail-single_date">Monday 16-June-2025 -<font size="1"> <a href="https://english.palinfo.com/opinion_articles/the-implications-of-supporting-israels-ambiguity-policy-on-its-nuclear-weapons/">https://english.palinfo.com/opinion_articles/the-implications-of-supporting-israels-ambiguity-policy-on-its-nuclear-weapons/</a></font></p>
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<p>Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had the audacity to accuse
Iran of genocide in his statement outlining the reasons for Operation
Rising Lion, while openly committing genocide against Palestinians in
Gaza with the international community\u2019s complicity.</p>
<p>\u201cFor decades, the tyrants of Tehran brazenly, openly called for
Israel\u2019s destruction. They backed up their genocidal rhetoric with a
program to develop nuclear weapons,\u201d Netanyahu stated in a seven-minute
video. The Wall Street Journal reported that Israel has already planned
14 days of military operations against Iran, while Netanyahu asserted an
indefinite timeframe.</p>
<p>The US had prior knowledge of Israel\u2019s airstrikes on Iran. According
to Axios, the US is aiding Israel in intercepting Iran\u2019s ballistic
missiles. While rushing to Israel\u2019s aid, US Representative told the UN
Security Council that any attack on US military bases would bring dire
consequences for Iran.</p>
<p>The double standard, exposed for what it is, still stands in the
international arena. The US maintains the right to aid any form of
aggression or interference in sovereign countries under the guise of
aid, while threatening action against any form of retaliation.</p>
<p>\u201cIsrael advised us this action was necessary for its self-defense.
Every sovereign nation has the right to defend itself and Israel is no
exception,\u201d McCoy Pitt, Senior Bureau Official for the Bureau of
International Affairs, told the UN Security Council.</p>
<p>Iran is also no exception, one must add. But let us not forget what
former US General Wesley Clark described in 2001 of the US War on Terror
and foreign intervention: \u201cWe are going to take out seven countries in
five years, starting with Iraq, and then Syria, Lebanon, Libya, Somalia,
Sudan and finish with Iran.\u201d</p>
<p>The US is deeply complicit in Israel\u2019s strikes against Iran, and the
international community is following suit with its rhetoric. Take
France, which is purportedly deliberating on symbolic recognition of a
Palestinian state: \u201cWe reaffirm Israel\u2019s right to defend itself against
any attack,\u201d Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot stated, despite Israel
attacking Iran first.</p>
<p>Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong followed suit. \u201cWe all
understand the threat of Iran\u2019s nuclear and ballistic missile program
represents a threat to international peace and security, and we urge the
parties to prioritize dialogue and diplomacy.\u201d</p>
<p>Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky warned that Iran \u201clong failed to
meet its obligations to the international community, and is building up
its nuclear program. But at the same time, it has rhetoric that is aimed
at destroying the state in Israel \u2026 So I have a great deal of
understanding for \u2026 military action to deter the production of a nuclear
bomb in the region.\u201d</p>
<p>One question for all world leaders supporting Israel\u2019s attacks
against Iran. Are any of these world leaders concerned that their
diplomacy is protecting a settler-colonial entity that has embarked on
genocide and has deliberately maintained a policy of ambiguity regarding
its own nuclear weapons and capabilities?</p>
<p>Israel\u2019s policy of ambiguity was maintained by the US, as a memo by
then National Security Advisor Henry Kissinger dated 7 July 1969,
illustrates. Discussing Israel\u2019s contract to purchase Phantom aircraft,
Kissinger notes that Israel committed \u201cnot to be the first to introduce
nuclear weapons into the Near East. But, he adds, \u201cit was plain from the
discussion that they interpreted that to mean they could possess
nuclear weapons as long as they did not test, deploy, or make them
public.\u201d The memo further acknowledges, \u201cpublic knowledge is almost as
dangerous as possession itself.\u201d</p>
<p>We have now seen Israel\u2019s genocide in Gaza. Is the policy of
ambiguity not as dangerous as public knowledge itself, or even more?</p>
<p>As early as November 2023, Israeli Heritage Minister Amichar Eliyahu
stated that Israel should drop a nuclear bomb on Gaza. Netanyahu
rejected Eliyahu\u2019s statement and then Defense Minister Yoav Gallant
remarked on X that he was glad \u201cthese are not the people in charge of
Israel\u2019s security\u201d. Eliyahu later described his comment as
\u201cmetaphorical\u201d.</p>
<p>Palestinians have been openly threatened with nuclear annihilation.
In May this year, US Congressman Randy Fine called for nuking Gaza in
the same way the US did in Japan. While Israel has not yet used nuclear
weapons in Gaza, in November 2023 Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor stated
that Gaza has been hit with more that 25,000 tons of bombs, which is
equivalent to two nuclear bombs. The weight of the US nuclear bombs
dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945 was approximately 15,000 tons.</p>
<p>Israel is listed among the nine countries in possession of nuclear
weapons, with 90 warheads and material for up to 200. Germany, which
supports Israel\u2019s security narrative, is listed as one of the five
countries that host US nuclear weapons. There are also 28 countries,
besides the 6 host countries for US and Russian nuclear weapons, that
endorse the possession and use of nuclear weapons.</p>
<p>As Israel drags the world into diplomatic confrontation with Iran,
focusing on the country\u2019s nuclear weapons program, who is focusing on
Israel\u2019s policy of ambiguity regarding its own nuclear weapons?
Furthermore, who is focusing on the immense disparity between Israel\u2019s
military and nuclear capabilities, and the Palestinians in Gaza with
negligible means of defending themselves? Considering Israel\u2019s strikes
on Iran, will Western leaders toe the line that Israel is expecting,
which is to annihilate Gaza from rhetoric, which is the bare minimum
allowing it political visibility?</p>
<p>Israel has not swapped Gaza for Iran, even if Netanyahu would like to
create the image of a new enemy. He has already created the exact
scenario with Lebanon, which briefly shifted attention away from Gaza.
Yet every time Israel embarks on a new, visible attack, the plans have
been months or years in the making. Israel disseminates the narrative
and Western leaders comply with diplomatic overtures, in the same way
they did over Gaza.</p>
<p>We must not lose sight of Gaza, however. Gaza remains central to
Israel, not because of any threat, but because it is a bulwark against
Zionist colonization. Israel needs to conjure enemies because that is
how it maintains its existence. It needs to focus on resistance
movements, on other countries\u2019 nuclear weapons, to maintain an image of a
vulnerable, helpless state. The truth, however, is that Israel is a
settler-colonial entity that obtained the world\u2019s approval to openly
commit genocide in Gaza, sides maintaining its policy of ambiguity over
nuclear weapons while attacking Iran for its own program.</p>
<p>Let the late war criminal Henry Kissinger\u2019s words sink in for a
moment, and consider the danger Israel poses, being a nuclear power that
shields itself from scrutiny through ambiguous policy. If that is too
immense for the international community to grapple with, how much more
so for Gaza?</p>
<p><em>-Ramona Wadi is an independent researcher, freelance journalist,
book reviewer and blogger. Her writing covers a range of themes in
relation to Palestine, Chile and Latin America. Her article appeared in
MEMO.</em></p>
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