Israel the Target of Effort to Turn Mideast into Nuclear-Weapons-Free Zone

One of Israel’s security nightmares is gaining force with a demand made by the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) of United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon; the United States; the United Kingdom; and Russia to convene an international conference to turn the Middle East into a nuclear-weapons-free zone. NAM, which is comprised of 100 developing countries, is carrying the banner for the Arab League, which initiated the idea as a way to force Israel to give up its presumed arsenal of nukes. Israel is also being pressured to become a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. Israeli officials, believing the US supported its longstanding lynchpin security policy of nuclear ambiguity, was angered when during her term as Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton accepted the idea of the zone, although averring the time for it was not yet ripe.