Documents released on Israeli nuclear spy

The trial was held behind closed doors.

Among the published documents were the testimonies of Vanunu, the Shin Bet domestic intelligence service investigators who questioned him, and then-Prime Minister Shimon Peres, who in 1986 ordered that Vanunu be arrested abroad and brought back to Israel to stand trial.

Vanunu, a technician employed at Israel's nuclear facility at Dimona, was lured from London to Rome in 1986 and kidnapped by Israeli agents, who then brought him to Israel.

Peres was quoted as saying in the court records that the October 1986 publication of Vanunu's disclosures by the Sunday Times had spurred hostile countries to try to "even the balance" with Israel.

On Wednesday of last week, Peres said he was concerned the publication of the court documents could lead to new international pressure on Israel to come clean about its nuclear arsenal.

The Jewish state has never admitted to having nuclear weapons.

"The whole Vanunu affair makes my blood boil," Peres told Israel Radio. "One day a man gets up in the morning and decides what is good for the country. Does he carry the responsibility?"

Vanunu was sentenced in 1986 to 18 years in prison, most of which he has served in solitary confinement at the Ashkelon jail. He was recently allowed to spend time with other prisoners during daytime hours.

His lawyer, Avigdor Feldman, said last week that whenever Vanunu is released he would continue his campaign against nuclear weapons.