Israel, Syria each want nuclear energy

Friday, March 12, 2010 | by

Mideast rivals Israel and Syria on March 9 each announced ambitions to develop nuclear energy.

Both countries laid out their hopes at an international conference on civilian nuclear energy at the Organization for Economic Coopera-tion and Development in Paris. Civilian nuclear energy contributes far less to global warming than burning of fossil fuels, but scares many because of the risks of long-term waste storage and the possibility of proliferation.

“We need this energy source because it is environmentally clean,” Israeli Infrastructure Minister Uzi Landau said in Paris. He called Israel’s need for nuclear energy “imminent” but gave no timeline for an atomic power plant.

In an interview, Landau said his country would open up any nuclear plants to international inspections — but said he saw no reason for Israel to allow inspectors into what are believed to be nuclear weapons sites, or to sign the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. Israel has never openly acknowledged being a nuclear power, following a policy it calls “nuclear ambiguity.” — ap