'Apocalyptic' if Egypt, Saudi go nuclear: Israel minister

AFP

JERUSALEM, Nov 9 (AFP) Nov 09, 2007
Egyptian and Saudi nuclear ambitions, on top of Iran's atomic drive, will lead to an "apocalyptic scenario", a senior Israeli cabinet minister said in comments published on Friday.

"If Egypt and Saudi Arabia begin nuclear programmes, this can bring an apocalyptic scenario upon us," Strategic Affairs Minister Avigdor Lieberman told the English-language Jerusalem Post newspaper.

"Their intentions should be taken seriously and the declarations being made now are to prepare the world for when they decide to actually do it," said the minister, responsible for coordinating Israeli efforts against a nuclear Iran.

On October 29, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak announced a programme to build several nuclear power stations -- the country having abandoned an atomic energy programme in 1986 after the Chernobyl disaster.

Jordan, one of only two Arab countries with Egypt to have signed peace deals with Israel, as well as Algeria, Libya, Yemen and all six pro-Western Gulf states including Saudi Arabia have also announced peaceful nuclear ambitions.

Lieberman, who heads the ultra-nationalist Yisrael Beitenu party, also told the Jerusalem Post that Pakistan could pose a major threat to Israel.

"If the Taliban or (Al-Qaeda leader Osama) bin Laden get control (of Pakistan), they will have nuclear weapons for terror use and they don't hide their opinions about Israel," he said.

Lieberman also joined the chorus of Israeli criticism against the head of the UN nuclear watchdog, Mohamed ElBaradei, over comments from the Egyptian that Iran's nuclear acitivites pose no immediate danger.

"He is part of the problem, not part of the solution," said Lieberman, who is also a deputy prime minister.

Israel, which belongs to the UN nuclear watchdog but is not a signatory to its key Non-Proliferation Treaty, is widely considered to have the Middle East's sole -- if undeclared -- nuclear arsenal.

It considers Iran its chief enemy after repeated statements by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad that the Jewish state should be wiped off the map.

Lieberman is known for extreme nationalist views.

He advocates a land swap in which Israel would annex its largest Jewish settlements built on occupied Palestinian land and transfer Israeli territory with a large Arab population to a future Palestinian state.

He also once sparked outrage by advocating the execution of Arab Israeli MPs who had dealings with Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas, which Israel considers a terrorist organisation but which controls the Gaza Strip.