Atom spy release puts Israel on the spot
The upcoming release of Mordechai Vanunu, the whistleblower jailed for exposing Israel’s nuclear arsenal, poses serious problems for Israel, which is under growing pressure to come clean about its atomic weapons program.
Vanunu, who worked as a technician at the Dimona nuclear facility in southern Israel, was sentenced to 18 years in prison in 1986 after giving details about Israel’s secret weapons program to Britain’s Sunday Times.
Israeli agents subsequently lured Vanunu from London to Italy, where he was kidnapped and brought to Israel. There, he was tried in secret.
His upcoming release, scheduled for April 21, comes at a difficult time for Israel, which is facing increasing diplomatic pressure following a recent declaration by Libya that it would renounce its non-conventional weapons program, and Iran’s announcement that it would suspend its uranium enrichment program and allow nuclear inspections – both moves that served to turn the spotlight firmly onto the monitoring of non-conventional weapons in the Middle East.
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Atom spy release puts Israel on the spot