UN nuclear assembly rejects Arab bid to pressure Israel
VIENNA - Member states of the UN nuclear agency rejected on Thursday an Arab resolution criticizing Israel over its assumed atomic arsenal, in a diplomatic victory for Western states that opposed the initiative.
Arab states had submitted the non-binding resolution - which called on Israel to join a global anti-nuclear weapons pact - to the annual meeting of the 162-nation International Atomic Energy Agency, in part to signal their frustration at the lack of progress to move towards a Middle East free of nuclear weapons.
The United States and its allies argued that the resolution, if adopted, would be counterproductive. Fifty-eight countries voted against the text and 45 states for. Other countries either abstained or were absent.
