Amano signed an agreement with PA ambassador in Vienna on Tuesday recognizing “State of Palestine”; Agreement allows for IAEA inspections of atomic energy, radioactive material sites in PA territories; Israel: We view this as a violation of international agreements.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) signed an agreement on Tuesday recognizing the “State of Palestine”. The agreement was approved and signed by the organization’s Director General, Yukiya Amano, an ambassador from the Palestinian Authority (PA) Salah Abdel-Shafi in Vienna.
The Palestinians signed the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons in 2015 in efforts to place diplomatic pressure on the State of Israel, which is not a signatory of the treaty. The PA and IAEA agreement will permit the IAEA to inspect any Palestinian atomic energy research or sites, as well as radioactive materials. The Palestinian ambassador to the IAEA claimed the agreement “constitutes additional proof that the State of Palestine is a full and active partner in the international community.” The Palestinians have been actively seeking support and state recognition from international bodies and organizations as it continues its boycott of both Israel and the Trump Administration’s peace efforts in the region. The PA has been vetting Russia, China, and several other states to replace the United States as a peace mediator.
Israel’s Foreign Ministry responded to the development, condemning the unilateral move and violation by the IAEA of international law. It released the statement in response, “This is another attempt by the Palestinian Authority to join international organizations in order to exploit them for political purposes… Israel does not recognize the attempts of the PA to join such organizations and such institutions as a state and Israel views this as a violation of international agreements.”
The IAEA claims “The agreement does not in any way imply an expression of a position regarding the legal status of any state or territory or its powers or demarcation of its borders.”
Israel, alongside India and Pakistan, have signed “safeguard agreements” with the IAEA, which they claim includes efforts to “ensure that nuclear material, facilities, and other items specified under the safeguards agreement are not used for the manufacture of any nuclear weapon or to further any military purpose and that such items are used exclusively for peaceful purposes and not for the manufacture of any nuclear explosive device.”
