Israel and weapons of mass destruction
Nuclear weapons
It is believed that Israel had possessed an operational nuclear weapons capability by 1967, with the mass production of nuclear warheads occurring immediately after the
On 5 November 2023, amid the
Nuclear weapons delivery
Nuclear weapons delivery mechanisms include
In 2006, then Israeli Prime Minister
Chemical weapons
Israel has signed but not ratified the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC).[19] In 1983 a report by the CIA stated that Israel, after "finding itself surrounded by frontline Arab states with budding CW capabilities, became increasingly conscious of its vulnerability to chemical attack... undertook a program of chemical warfare preparations in both offensive and protective areas... In late 1982 a probable CW nerve agent production facility and a storage facility were identified at the Dimona Sensitive Storage Area in the Negev Desert. Other CW agent production is believed to exist within a well-developed Israeli chemical industry."[20][21]
There are also speculations that a chemical weapons program might be located at the Israel Institute for Biological Research (IIBR[22]) in Ness Ziona.[23]
190 liters of dimethyl methylphosphonate, a CWC schedule 2 chemical used in the synthesis of sarin nerve gas, was discovered in the cargo of El Al Flight 1862 after it crashed in 1992 en route to Tel Aviv. Israel said the material was non-toxic and was to have been used to test filters that protect against chemical weapons. It had also been clearly listed on the cargo manifest in accordance with international regulations. The shipment was from a U.S. chemical plant to the IIBR under a U.S. Department of Commerce license.[24]
In 1993, the
Biological weapons
Israel is suspected to have developed an offensive
References
- ^ "Background Information, 2005 Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons". United Nations. Retrieved July 2, 2006.
- ^ U.S. Congress Office of Technology Assessment. August 1993. OTA-ISC-559. Retrieved December 9, 2008.)
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(help - ^ "Israel's Nuclear Weapon Capability: An Overview". Archived from the original on April 29, 2015. Retrieved May 3, 2015.
- ^ Toukan, Abdullah, Senior Associate; Cordesman, Anthony H., Arleigh A. Burke Chair in Strategy. "Study on a Possible Israeli Strike on Iran's Nuclear Development Facilities" (PDF). Center for Strategic and International Studies. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 17, 2009. Retrieved April 2, 2015.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Brower, Kenneth S., “A Propensity for Conflict: Potential Scenarios and Outcomes of War in the Middle East,” Jane's Intelligence Review, Special Report no. 14, (February 1997), 14-15.
- ^ Lewis, Jeffrey (March 8, 2024). "Does Israel Really Have a Thermonuclear Weapon?".
- ISBN 0-394-57006-5p.220
- ^ https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/far-right-minister-nuking-gaza-is-an-option-population-should-go-to-ireland-or-deserts/ [bare URL]
- ^ Plushnick-Masti, Ramit (August 25, 2006). "Israel Buys 2 Nuclear-Capable Submarines". The Washington Post. Retrieved May 20, 2010.
- ^ "Missile Survey: Ballistic and Cruise Missiles of Foreign Countries". Scribd. Archived from the original on September 28, 2008.
- Ben-David, Alon (October 1, 2009). "Israel seeks sixth Dolphin in light of Iranian 'threat'". Jane's Defence Weekly. Retrieved November 3, 2009.
- ^ Pike, John. "Israel Air Force - Israel". Global security.
- ^ "Israeli PM in nuclear arms hint". BBC Online. December 12, 2006. Retrieved July 30, 2015.
- ^ "In a Slip, Israel's Leader Seems to Confirm Its Nuclear Arsenal". The New York Times. December 12, 2006. Retrieved July 30, 2015.
- ABC Online. December 12, 2006. Retrieved July 30, 2015.
- ^ Dawoud, Khaled (December 2, 1999). "Redefining the bomb". Al-Ahram Weekly. Archived from the original on June 26, 2006. Retrieved July 2, 2006.
- ^ Mohamed ElBaradei (July 27, 2004). "Transcript of the Director General's Interview with Al-Ahram News". International Atomic Energy Agency. Retrieved June 3, 2007.
- ^ "43 nations to seek Middle East free of WMDs". NBC News. July 13, 2008. Retrieved September 6, 2011.
- ^ United Nations Treaty Collection. Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on their Destruction Archived April 7, 2015, at the Wayback Machine. Accessed January 14, 2009.
- ^ Matthew M. Aid (September 10, 2013). "Exclusive: Does Israel Have Chemical Weapons Too?". Foreign Policy. Retrieved March 17, 2018.
- ^ "1NIE on Israeli Chemical Weapons". scribd.com.
- ^ IIBR, IL, archived from the original on November 15, 2012.
- ^ Cohen, Avner. "Israel and Chemical/Biological Weapons: History, Deterrence, and Arms Control" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on June 11, 2009. Retrieved April 27, 2010.
- ^ "Israel says El Al crash chemical 'non-toxic'". BBC. October 2, 1998. Archived from the original on August 18, 2003. Retrieved July 2, 2006.
- ^ Stein, Jeff (December 2, 1998). "Debunking the "ethno-bomb"". Salon.com. Archived from the original on June 29, 2006. Retrieved July 11, 2006.
- ^ "Membership of the Biological Weapons Convention". United Nations Office At Geneva. Retrieved March 12, 2011.
- nerve gasproduction facility was established in 1982 in the Dimona restricted area are apparently erroneous. Israel is also probably poised to rapidly produce biological weapons, though there are no public reports of currently active production effort or associated locations.…Israel's primary chemical and biological warfare facility is at Nes Ziyyona [Noss Ziona], near Tel Aviv. The Israeli Institute for Bio-Technology is believed to be the home of both offensive and defensive research.
- ^ a b "Arms Control and Proliferation Profile: Israel | Arms Control Association". www.armscontrol.org. Retrieved September 3, 2021.
- ^ Normark, Magnus; Anders Lindblad; Anders Norqvist; Björn Sandström; Louise Waldenström (December 2005). "Israel and WMD: Incentives and Capabilities" (PDF). FOI. p. 38. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 8, 2007. Retrieved February 11, 2007.
Israel does not stockpile or produce BW in large-scale today. However, we assess that Israel has a breakout capability for biological weapons and also CW, i.e. the knowledge needed to implement theoretical knowledge into the practical management of production and deployment of CBW. The knowledge base would be the one that was built during the 1950s and 1960s where today's advanced research can be used to upgrade potential BW and CW agents and their behaviour in the environment. We have not found any conclusive evidence that show that Israel's offensive programs still remain active today.
- ^ "'Place the Material in the Wells': Docs Point to Israeli Army's 1948 Biological Warfare". Haaretz.
External links
- "Israel", WMD Overview, Nuclear Threat Initiative, May 2014, archived from the original on September 18, 2015, retrieved October 7, 2014.
- Israeli Nuclear History, Archival Document Collection at the Wilson Center Digital Archive
- Avner Cohen Collection at the Wilson Center's Nuclear Proliferation International History Project
- Israel Crosses the Threshold, National Security Archive Electronic Briefing Book No. 189, by Avner Cohen and William Burr, April 28, 2006 (originally published at "Israel crosses the threshold", Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, May/June 2006])
- Bibliography of Israeli Nuclear Science Publications by Mark Gorwitz, June 2005
- Israeli Nuclear Forces, 2002, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, September/October 2002
- "The Bomb That Never Is", by Avner Cohen, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, May/June 2000, Vol. 56, No. 3 pp. 22–23
- Israel and the Bomb (online; Columbia University Press, 1998), including declassified documents.
- "Obsessive secrecy undermines democracy" by Ha'aretz. Tuesday, August 8, 2000—Cohen published Israel and the Bomb in the United States, and a Hebrew translation of the book has appeared here. In the eyes of the defense establishment, Cohen has committed a double sin.
- Fighting to preserve the tattered veil of secrecy by Vanunu trialtranscripts set off alarm bells for the Defense Ministry's chief of security, who is striving to protect the traditional opacity regarding Israel's nuclear affairs.
- "Blast, from the past to the present" by Yirmiyahu Yovel. Ha'aretz,. July 28, 2000. If, in the context of the peace agreements and talks with the United States, Israel were to confirm its nuclear capability - while committing itself to no nuclear testing and pledging to build its defense system on conventional weapons as in the past - maybe then it might achieve at least de facto recognition, if not international legitimacy, for its nuclear weaponry, to be used only as a "last resort" and a tool for safeguarding peace after Israel withdraws.
- The Third Temple's Holy of Holies: Israel's Nuclear Weapons Warner D. Farr, LTC, U.S. Army, September 1999
- "Israel: Plutonium Production". The Risk Report, Volume 2 Number 4 (July–August 1996).
- "Israel: Uranium Processing and Enrichment". The Risk Report, Volume 2 Number 4 (July–August 1996).
- Israel The Nuclear Potential of Individual Countries Treaty on Nonproliferation of Nuclear Weapons Problems of Extension Appendix 2 Russian Federation Foreign Intelligence Service April 6, 1995
- The Samson Option: Israel's Nuclear Arsenal and American Foreign Policy by Seymour M. Hersh, New York: Random House, 1991