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VIENNA-The U.N. nuclear assembly on Saturday passed a resolution urging all Middle East nations to renounce atom bombs in a vote most Arabs boycotted over amendments they felt took pressure off Israel.The vote was 82-0 with 13 abstentions but disenchantment reigned after days of wrangling between Israel and Western nations on one hand and Arab and Islamic states on the other that polarized a body that normally operates on consensus.The rare ballot at the weeklong annual assembly of the International Atomic Energy Agency was non-binding but highlighted deep tensions over Israel's presumed nuclear might and shunning of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).A similar resolution a year ago passed overwhelmingly last year but with 47 abstentions by Western and developing nations.To get broader approval this year, sponsor Egypt deleted clauses urging all Middle East nations not to make or test nuclear arms or let them be deployed on their soil, and big nuclear arms powers not to foil such steps.But efforts to achieve consensus were torpedoed by competing Israeli and Arab additions, which included-respectively-urging all regional states to comply with obligations to the NPT and all nations to accede to the global treaty.Entitled "Application of IAEA safeguards in the Middle East," the resolution also underlined the importance of a-as yet rocky-peace process between Israel and Arabs in establishing a nuclear weapons-free zone (NWFZ) in the region.To read more go to:
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