Israel EC unveils n-program; Syria impounds Israeli goods to Irbil

By: Sultan Ahmed/ Ahmad Hammadi

DAMASCUS/ HELD JERUSALEM: Israel offered a faint glimpse into its secretive nuclear program when its atomic energy commission launched a website ahead of a visit by chief of UN nuclear watchdog, IAEA.

According to newspaper reports Tuesday and an official at the border in the southern Dar'a region Syrian customs authorities on the Syrian-Jordanian borders have foiled an attempt to smuggle Israeli goods through Syrian territory to Iraq.

The official said five Jordanian trucks loaded with beams for laying electric cables worth US$60,000 were seized Jun. 24, adding that the trucks were heading to the northern Iraqi city of Irbil via Syria. The beams have Hebrew writing on them and some had "made in Israel" printed in English, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The goods manifest indicated the beams were of Italian origin and were ordered by a Turkish company in Ankara to be sent later to Iraq, the official said. He said the goods were confiscated and a US$480,000 fine was imposed.

Al-Baath newspaper, meanwhile, quoted Hasan Hamdo, the head of the Naseib customs department on the Syrian-Jordanian border, as saying the drivers of the trucks, all Jordanians, had forged the manifest of the smuggled goods to be able to cross the borders. It said authorities were investigating the drivers.

Until now, Israel has kept its two nuclear facilities shrouded in secrecy and refused to discuss speculation it has developed one the world's largest atomic arsenals, saying only that it would not be the first country to introduce such weapons in the region.

Gideon Shavit, spokesman for the Israel Atomic Energy Commission, said the timing of the Web site launch was coincidental and that it was not a harbinger of a new, more open Israeli nuclear policy. The site does not mention Israel's nuclear capabilities.

The English version of the site gives a short history of the IAEC and shows two pastoral pictures of the Dimona and Sorek reactors, peeking out in the distance from behind lush flower beds and a palm tree.

The Hebrew site is more developed, with links to research publications, commission press releases and even a section on community involvement - features that will soon be added to the English site, Shavit said.

Israel has not signed the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, so it does not formally have to declare itself a weapons state or agree to curbs on its nuclear activities.

END