BY DR. SADAKA YAHYA FADHEL Israel is planning to trigger a war in the region and has been encouraging the world to take action purportedly to stop Iran from developing nuclear weapons. Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon has made vicious statements full of lies as part of this veiled plan. He said Iran has nuclear weapons that pose a danger to the world order, overlooking the fact that Israel has 300 nuclear weapons aimed at Arab and non-Arab cities which can be launched with the press of a button. Israel uses its huge nuclear weaponry to intimidate and blackmail the whole region. Much of the world is against any state developing or maintaining nuclear arms even for self-defense. Much of the Arab world is against Iran developing nuclear weapons, because of its repugnant policy of seeking hegemony, if not direct control, of the region. Prince Saud Al-Faisal, Minister of Foreign Affairs, has said on several occasions that the region should be free of nuclear arms or any weapons of mass destruction. Prince Turki Al-Faisal has made a similar call. Their calls include Israel, which is hostile to the Arab world. The Zionist country has a long history of committing crimes against Arabs, particularly in Palestine. The Israeli foreign minister's statement that world stability is threatened by Tehran is a smokescreen to blur the fact that it also possesses nuclear weapons and that it has been behaving as if it is not bound by international laws. It is obvious that the Zionists are preparing for a new war in the Middle East. Israel and its allies, which want to control the region, pretend to abhor nuclear weapons, although they themselves have nuclear arms in their arsenals. After destroying many Arab countries, they are apparently nurturing dreams of dividing the region into parts to be able to control it more easily. Israeli leaders claim that their country's security is threatened, but it is Israel itself which poses a threat to regional security. Former US president Jimmy Carter told the Arabic daily “Al-Sharq Al-Awsat” on January 27, 2012 that Israel did not have to worry about Iran developing nuclear arms because Israel had 300 nuclear warheads. The crimes committed by the Zionists and their false claims and accusations will serve as the catalyst for their downfall. There will be a day when there is retribution for their distortion of facts and oppression of the Arab people. (Dr. Sadaka Y. Fadhel is a Member of the Shoura Council and Professor of Political Science) __
