Talking at an occasion to mark a change of management on the nation’s Atomic Vitality Fee, Lapid referred to Israel’s defensive and offensive capabilities, in addition to what he referred to as its “different capabilities” — understood to be a reference to nuclear weapons.
“The operational area within the invisible dome above us is constructed on defensive capabilities and offensive capabilities, and what the international media tends to name ‘different capabilities.’ These different capabilities maintain us alive and can maintain us alive as long as we and our youngsters are right here,” Lapid mentioned.
Israel is extensively believed to own just a few hundred nuclear weapons, creating the expertise within the 1960s. Not like most assumed nuclear weapons states, Israel has by no means formally declared possession.
As a substitute it pursues a coverage of ‘opacity’ — which means Israeli leaders, when pushed, have most popular to make solely indirect or ambiguous reference to nukes.
The primary such assertion was made within the early 1960s by then junior protection minister Shimon Peres who mentioned that Israel would “definitely not be the primary to introduce nuclear weapons into the area.”
Extra not too long ago, former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert appeared to acknowledge the nuclear functionality when he listed Israel, together with the US, Russia and France, as having nuclear weapons, although he later tried to row again the feedback, which had been made on German tv.
Benjamin Netanyahu too as soon as referred to Israel as a “nuclear energy” throughout a presentation to his Cupboard, earlier than he corrected himself to say “power energy.”