In 1985 a former technician at the Dimona plant, Mordechai Vanunu, revealed secret photos and data from Dimona that were later published in the London Sunday Times. His data showed a sophisticated nuclear program of over 200 bombs, with boosted devices, neutron bombs capable of being delivered on the locally produced Jericho-class medium-range rockets or by US-made F-16 bombers or submarine-launched cruise missiles. The photographs showed sophisticated designs which scientific experts said enabled the Israelis to build bombs with as little as four kilograms of plutonium.
For many years Israel did not have an explicit nuclear doctrine beyond insisting that Israel would not be the first to introduce nuclear weapons into the region. Instead, it has followed a policy of “nuclear ambiguity" — seemingly possessing nuclear weapons, while denying their existence.
“By now the posture of Israel’s nuclear ambiguity has become diplomatic fiction,” Prof. Yair Evron, a nuclear policy expert and author of “Israel’s Nuclear Dilemma” told The Media Line. “This is because it’s widely believed in the world that Israel has a nuclear weapon capability.”
The ambiguity policy was challenged in December 2006 when, during a visit to Germany, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert was quoted as saying: “Iran openly, explicitly and publicly threatens to wipe Israel off the map. Can you say that this is the same level — when they are aspiring to have nuclear weapons — as America, France, Israel, Russia.”
Officials in Jerusalem later tried to backtrack on Olmert’s comments, but the remarks sparked a debate on whether the policy is still valid and effective.
Some critics say the nuclear ambiguity policy is outdated and even damaging to Israel, as it implies the government has something to hide. They argue Israel should come clean and make its nuclear record public and transparent. Others say the vagueness was actually enhancing Israel’s image as a potential “Grim Reaper” that Arab enemies should fear and announcing its nuclear inventory would only spark a regional arms race as others tried to get their own bomb.
Israel is not a signatory of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT).
The London-based Jane’s Information Group has reported that Israel has between 100 to 300 nuclear warheads, putting it almost on par with Britain. It also said that Israel likely kept most of its arsenal in an unassembled mode that could quickly be made functional in an emergency.
Since the early 1950s, Israel has had a nuclear program. Aided initially by France, the concept was to obtain a “doomsday weapon,” as a deterrent against existential threats.
