Benjamin Netanyahu appears to have accidently confirmed the existence of Israel’s nuclear arsenal after decades of deliberate ambiguity.
In what Reuters described as “apparent slip of the tongue”, Israel’s prime minister labelled his country a nuclear power before correcting himself “with a bashful nod and an embarrassed smile”.
Updating a weekly cabinet meeting on a new subsea gas pipeline, Netanyahu said “the significance of this project is that we are turning Israel into a nuclear power,”, before quickly correcting himself to say “energy power”.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
“Israel is widely believed to have an atomic arsenal but has never confirmed or denied that it has nuclear weapons, maintaining a policy of ambiguity for decades,” says the Daily Mail.
Reuters says it represents “a rare blooper from one of Israel’s most polished politicians”, however its timing raised questions about whether it was as innocent a mistake as it first seemed.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is understood to have briefed Israel ahead of time about their plans to kill Iranian general Qasem Suleimani and while the Jerusalem Post notes that Netanyahu has repeatedly stated “that Israel will not be the first country to introduce nuclear weapons to the Middle East”, a reminder of its nuclear capability will not have gone unnoticed.
The Times of Israel cites “foreign reports” which “have put the size of Israel’s nuclear arsenal in the dozens to hundreds of weapons”.
Yahoo News, which describes Israel’s nuclear arsenal as “the worst-kept secret in international relations,” says if Iran “appeared to be on the verge of mating nuclear devices with the systems needed to deliver them, Israel might well consider a preventive nuclear attack”.
“In the case of Iran, we can imagine scenarios in which Israeli planners would no longer deem a conventional attack sufficiently lethal to destroy or delay the Iranian program. In such a scenario, and absent direct intervention from the United States, Israel might well decide to undertake a limited nuclear attack against Iranian facilities” it says.
–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––For a round-up of the most important stories from around the world - and a concise, refreshing and balanced take on the week’s news agenda - try The Week magazine. Start your trial subscription today –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
-
Political cartoons for January 18Cartoons Sunday’s political cartoons include cost of living, endless supply of greed, and more
-
Exploring ancient forests on three continentsThe Week Recommends Reconnecting with historic nature across the world
-
How oil tankers have been weaponisedThe Explainer The seizure of a Russian tanker in the Atlantic last week has drawn attention to the country’s clandestine shipping network
-
Why Greenland’s natural resources are nearly impossible to mineThe Explainer The country’s natural landscape makes the task extremely difficult
-
Iran cuts internet as protests escalateSpeed Reada Government buildings across the country have been set on fire
-
US nabs ‘shadow’ tanker claimed by RussiaSpeed Read The ship was one of two vessels seized by the US military
-
Why recognizing Somaliland is so risky for IsraelTHE EXPLAINER By wading into one of North Africa’s most fraught political schisms, the Netanyahu government risks further international isolation
-
Israel approves new West Bank settlementsSpeed Read The ‘Israeli onslaught has all but vanquished a free Palestinian existence in the West Bank’
-
How Bulgaria’s government fell amid mass protestsThe Explainer The country’s prime minister resigned as part of the fallout
-
Femicide: Italy’s newest crimeThe Explainer Landmark law to criminalise murder of a woman as an ‘act of hatred’ or ‘subjugation’ but critics say Italy is still deeply patriarchal
-
Brazil’s Bolsonaro behind bars after appeals run outSpeed Read He will serve 27 years in prison
