B’chasdei Hashem, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) met on Thursday, 4 Tishrei, at which time its General Assembly voted against an Egyptian proposal backed by Arab nations including Iran and Syria, demanding an inspection of Israel’s Dimona nuclear facilty. The proposal was defeated in a 61-43 vote.

Israel’s Foreign Ministry sent representatives to meet with officials in ally Western nations to enlist their support to block the proposal, as Jerusalem has successfully done in the past as well.

Mr. Ze’ev Snir, who heads Israel Atomic Energy Commission condemned the proposal, which he pointed out singles out Israel as it has three times in the past. He warned that if the General Assembly accepts the Egyptian proposal it would significantly delegitimize the international organization.

The Prime Minister’s Office released the following statement following the vote. “This is a great victory for Israel in the international arena. In recent weeks, there has been a combined national effort, led by the Prime Minister and the National Security Council, the Foreign Ministry, and the Atomic Energy Commission.

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu added, “I have spoken directly with over 30 presidents, prime ministers and foreign ministers. I explained that there was no place to hold a discussion of this kind as long as the main problem in the Middle East is Iran’s efforts to arm itself with nuclear weapons and its clear declarations regarding its intention to destroy the State of Israel. I welcome the fact that the gap in Israel’s favor was significantly larger than the votes in previous years. I thank all those countries that supported Israel, especially the US, Australia and Canada. I thank the EU for voting as a single bloc in favor of Israel against the decision.”

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)