NPT members, including US, urge Israel to open nuke sites to inspectors

Ma'an/Agencies - Signatories to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty have approved a resolution backing a nuclear-free Middle East and have called on Israel to open its nuclear sites to international inspection.

A measure was approved by consensus by all 189 NPT signatories, including the United States, the US program Democracy Now reported.

Egypt’s ambassador to the UN, Maged Abdelaziz, hailed the move as a major step forward.

"The road ahead is not easy, but it is the only way forward. Today’s reaffirmation by the conference of the importance of Israel’s accession to the treaty and the placement of all its nuclear facilities under IAEA comprehensive safeguards confirms the continued resolve of the state’s parties to pursue the 1995 and 2000 commitments in this respect," Abdelaziz was quoted as saying.

Democracy Now reported that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected the measure, calling it biased for excluding Iran. Israel, which has never confirmed the existence of its alleged secret nuclear weapons program, is the only Middle East state not to have signed the NPT. Full story