Israel hopes to build a nuclear power plant together with its Arab neighbors, a move that will also lessen its dependence on coal and natural gas currently used to produce the country’s electricity. Minister of National Infrastructure Uzi Landau made the announcement while attending an international nuclear energy conference in Paris.
Israel’s National Infrastructure Minister Uzi Landau told an international nuclear energy conference in Paris Tuesday, Israel wants to build nuclear power plants in cooperation with its Arab neighbors.
Israel he said has always considered nuclear power to partially replace its dependence on coal. The project he said will help to secure Israel’s energy supplies and will also fight global warning as it will restrict its use of fossil fuels.
"Building a nuclear reactor to produce electricity will allow Israel to achieve energy independence and end its dependence on others," Landau said in a statement. "Nuclear technology has many applications that can serve the goal of peace and cooperation."
Currently Israel uses coal and natural gas to produce electricity.
Several months ago Landau met with the French minister in charge of energy, Jean-Louis Borloo, and raised the idea of joint French-Israeli-Jordanian cooperation in developing a nuclear power plant. The French minister was enthusiastic about the idea, Landau said.
It was France who, helped Israel build its nuclear reactor at Dimona. Israel is believed to have used that reactor to construct a stockpile of nuclear weapons.
Israel has never acknowledged being a nuclear power, following a policy it calls "nuclear ambiguity." Israel also has a smaller nuclear reactor for research at Nahal Soreq, not far from the country's population center in Tel Aviv.
The construction of a nuclear reactor could draw international attention to Israel's nuclear activities. Asked if Israel would allow International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors to supervise any new project, Chen Ben Lulu, an aide to Landau, said Israel will abide by all the relevant rules.
Israel has not signed the Non-Proliferation Treaty, which aims to limit the number of countries capable of developing nuclear weapons.
The idea of generating nuclear energy has been floating around for years. In 2007, former National Infrastructure Minister Binyamin Ben Eliezer, said he was working on a plan to build a nuclear power plant in Israel's southern Negev desert.
(AP contributed to this report) |
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