VIENNA, Sept 21 (KUNA) -- The Arab countries on Friday resented the western nations' rejection to endorse an Arab draft resolution or a presidential communique calling on Israel to join the nuclear non-proliferation treaty (NPT) and subject its nuclear installations to international supervision.

Head of the Council of Arab Ambassadors in Vienna, Salim Riyami, in a statement before the 51st general conference of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), here today, said the Arab group has called for an article demanding that Israeli nuclear capabilities be listed on the agenda of the agency's general conference of next year.

He warned that Israel's continuous opaque nuclear policy would have its negative repercussions on the already tense situationin in the Middle East and enforce a state of a dangerous armament race in the region. He said that all countries of the region have joint the NPT.

Riyami recalled that the the Arab countries during their latest summit conference in Riyadh, have underlined significance of the NPT in achieving regional and international security.
He called for a comprehensive regional perspective in dealing with the issue of nuclear armament in the Middle East with all countries of the region taken into account.
The Arab diplomat reiterated the Arabs rejection of the agency's present technique of selectivity, biase and double standard.

Giving priority for peace is the mean for Israel to achieve security, not by possession of weapons of mass destruction, Riyami said.

The Arab states, along with friendly nations are keen on seeing the issue of Israel's nuclear capabilities on the agenda of the agency's general conferences, he said, calling on the interantional community to back up the Arab request on having a Middle East free of weapons of mass destruction.

On his part, Syria's representative, Ibrahim Othman, said the Arab countries resented the failure in internationalizing the NPT, 40 years after it was declared. lashing at Israel for rejecting to join the treatry and its continuous ambitions to develope nuclear arms away from international supervision.

He said Israel was the true nuclear danger in the Middle East, criticizing the western nations for aboting the Arab draft resolution over the Israeli nuclear capabilities and the super powers for refusing to take into acount the Arab worry over the Israeli destructive force and balance disorders in the region.

He described the threat poised by the Israeli nuclear arsenal as a type of "terrorism", noting that Israel continued to reject to adhere to security council resolutions pertaining to nuclear non-proliferation.

He questioned the credibility of the NPT as result of Israel's refusal to sign it.
Meanwhile, Egypt's representative to the IAEA, Iyhab Fawzi, while the Arab countries implemented the demands of the international community in signing all relevant accords, the world remained uncapable of calling Israel to join the NPT.

Head of the Arab League's mission, Mikhail Wahba praised the non-aligned countries for their back up of the Arab gruop.

Speaking to KUNA, he resented the rejection by the western nations to adopt the Arab draft resolution.

He said reiterated the call that Israel's security could be only achieved through making the Middle East a region free of weapons of mass destruction, criticing the world super power nations for being ignorant of the Arab calls.

The five-day IAEA general conference ended earlier in the day during which a host of issues pertaining to the Middle East were reviewed.

A draft resolution on the Middle East presented by Egypt was endorsed by a majority of 53 countries, rejection of the United States and Israel, while 47 nations abstained.