Netanyahu cancels US summit visit

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has cancelled a planned trip to Washington next week for President Barack Obama's 47…

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has cancelled a planned trip to Washington next week for President Barack Obama's 47-country nuclear security summit conference.

He made the decision after learning Egypt and Turkey intended to raise the issue of Israel's presumed nuclear arsenal at the conference, a government official said today.

Israel is believed to be the only nuclear-armed power in the Middle East but has never confirmed or denied that it possesses atomic weapons. It has not signed the nuclear non-proliferation treaty (NPT).

Mr Netanyahu saw Mr Obama at the White House late last month for talks on the stalled Middle East peace process with the Palestinians, but they failed to see eye to eye, and relations between the two leaders remain at a low ebb.

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"The prime minister has decided to cancel his trip to Washington to attend the nuclear conference next week, after learning that some countries including Egypt and Turkey plan to say Israel must sign the NPT," the official said.

Israeli media said Mr Netanyahu feared that Islamic countries attending the summit would try to shift its focus from nuclear terrorism to a concerted attack on his country's presumed nuclear weapons capacity.

The White House said it had been informed Mr Netanyahu would not attend the summit and that Deputy Prime Minister Dan Meridor would lead the Israeli delegation.

"We welcome Deputy Prime Minister Meridor's participation in the conference. Israel is a close ally and we look forward to continuing to work closely on issues related to nuclear security," Mike Hammer, White House National Security Council spokesman, said.

In New Orleans, hundreds of party loyalists at the Southern Republican Leadership Conference applauded when they were informed Netanyahu had just cancelled his visit to Washington. At the gathering, Liz Cheney, daughter of former vice president Dick Cheney, blasted Mr Obama for his "shabby" treatment of Netanyahu at the White House recently, saying it was "disgraceful."

Reuters