Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: Israel's activities in the Arms Control (AC) and Disarmament field can be roughly divided into two periods. In the first period, from 1963 to the 1980s, Israel's policy was characterized by alienation and deep suspicion regarding any initiative targeted at limiting the spread of certain weapons or their control. A change in this attitude first became apparent following Israel's 1981 strike against Iraq's Osirak nuclear reactor due to the need to repel harsh international criticism. Yet, total transformation of Israeli policy would have to wait another decade. During the 1991 Madrid Conference, the ACRS working group intensified awareness of the significance of AC and Disarmament. By then, Israel's political leadership had fully recognized the need to integrate AC regimes and to clearly present Israel's stance in international forums. Israel's policy consequently shifted from alienation and passivity to activism on the conceptual and technical level. Israel has, however, become a global key player for two additional reasons: (a) Obstruction capabilities -the putative capabilities of this 6th nuclear power in all realms of armament, arms production and supply to the global market give Israel the power to render almost any treaty ineffective; and (b) The Middle East linkage approach - Although dyadic situations where one state's adherence to an AC arrangement is conditional on the adherence of another are quite common, in the case of Israel, one state's adherence could become (or is) a necessary condition for the adherence of several other states to the same treaty. The official Arab's stance regarding the CWC is, of course, a pristine example to this. Notwithstanding Israel's growing importance in this area and as opposed to the extensive literature focusing on its policy of nuclear opacity, a marked lacuna can be observed in the literature regarding Israel's policy in other arenas of AC and Disarmament. Hence, the present research goals are twofold. In the first stage, we intend to map and analyze Israel's AC steps in general while stressing those areas that have been neglected in the literature. In the second stage, we shall trace Arab perceptions on these issues and, based on our findings, propose some feasible alternatives to mitigate the current predicament. Despite Israel's continuous stance on the NPT issue, regional developments - primarily the US occupation of Iraq offer Israel and its neighbors new opportunities to resolve the current various deadlocks. The real question is, therefore, will Israel take advantage of those opportunities? The proposed research will attempt to propose at least tentative answers to this question.