Israel has at least 90 nuclear weapons despite government denial and must give them up, the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) said in a statement.
⠀
“Israel is one of nine nuclear-armed countries, with an estimated 90 nuclear weapons in its arsenal, which it can launch from missiles and aircraft, and possibly from sea-launched missiles. Despite widespread acceptance by experts and former government officials of their existence, the governments of Israel and many Western countries maintain a policy of ambiguity regarding Israeli nuclear weapons. This cannot continue,” the document says.
⠀
ICAN calls on Israel to join the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, adopted in 2017, to succeed in making the Middle East a zone free of weapons of mass destruction.
⠀
The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons was adopted in July 2017. Then he was supported by 122 states. One country, the Netherlands, voted against and one, Singapore, abstained. Many states, including Russia and the United States, did not take part in the work of that conference. They stated that there is no need to adopt a new document given the existence of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. Currently, the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons has been signed by 93 countries, 70 of which have ratified it. The document came into force on January 22, 2021.
⠀
In October 2018, Russia, the UK, China, the US and France jointly stated that they opposed and would not sign the TPNW.
⠀
On January 3, 2022, the leaders of Russia, China, Great Britain, France and the United States issued a joint statement on preventing war between countries with nuclear weapons. The statement indicated that the nuclear five countries consider it their responsibility to reduce strategic risks. In addition, the nuclear powers reaffirmed the importance of compliance with bilateral and multilateral agreements on non-proliferation, disarmament and control, including the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. The leaders of the five nuclear powers emphasized their commitment to working with all countries to ultimately achieve a world free of nuclear weapons.
