Netanyahu thanks US for blocking nuclear resolution

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu phoned U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry to thank the U.S. for blocking a proposal calling for making the Middle East a nuclear-weapon-free zone through a UN conference.

A senior Israeli official was quoted by Israeli daily Haaretz as saying that Netanyahu had told Kerry on Saturday that the U.S. met the commitment it made to Israel in 2010 with regard to the nuclear issue.

The U.S. had blocked the decision at the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty Review Conference that closed Friday night in New York.

The Egyptian-led drive called for tasking the UN secretary general with convening an international conference on making the Middle East a nuclear weapons-free zone by March 2016.

According to the official, Netanyahu told Kerry that he appreciated his and President Barack Obama’s position as well as the efforts of the U.S. delegation to the conference.

The proposal was led by Egypt and other Arab and non-aligned states, calling for UN chief to call on regional conference on banning weapons of mass destruction (WMD) in the Middle East.

U.S. Under Secretary of State Rose Gottemoeller said there was “no agreement”, and accused Egypt and other Arab states of bringing “unrealistic and unworkable conditions” to the negotiations, charges that had been denied by Egypt.