The United States and its Western allies urged Arab countries Thursday to withdraw a resolution calling on Israel to sign up to a global anti-nuclear arms treaty so as not to jeopardise Middle East peace talks. On the final day of an International Atomic Energy Agency meeting, the European Union joined the United States in arguing that zeroing in on the Jewish state would jeopardise a proposed conference in 2012 on the creation of a Middle East free of weapons of mass destruction.
It could also have a negative effect on relaunched peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians, the Western countries warned the IAEA's 35-member board.
Israel is believed to be the only Middle East power to possess nuclear weapons.
Arab members of the IAEA are planning to table a resolution at the watchdog's annual general conference next week urging Israel to join the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).
The resolution is tabled every year at the week-long conference, which brings together all 151 IAEA member states. Last year the Arab states succeeded in having it adopted by a very narrow majority.
Brussels and Washington believe singling out Israel would not be conducive to persuading the Jewish state to attend the 2012 conference.
The EU was "of the view that ... singling out one country ... will not be conducive to a good atmosphere at the general conference and could only hamper the ability of the IAEA and its member states to contribute positively to the establishment of a zone free of weapons of mass destruction" in the Middle East, Belgian ambassador Frank Recker told the closed-door assembly.
The EU felt the IAEA "should focus on advancing the implementation of these agreements and avoid anything which might jeopardise the progress made," Recker said.
"For these reasons, the EU urges the Arab states not to table the resolution (against Israel) at this year's general conference."
US ambassador Glyn Davies put forward the same arguments earlier this week.
"We need to send a positive impulse to that broader peace process, not a negative one," he told reporters on Monday.
