Israel is "not transparent" about its nuclear weapons - ICAN

Susi Snyder, Program Coordinator of the Monitoring the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons and the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), stated that Israel, which is estimated to have spent $1.1 billion on nuclear armament in 2023 and does not disclose its expenditures in this area, is not transparent.

Snyder shared her evaluations with the AA correspondent regarding ICAN's 2023 report on nuclear weapons spending and Israel's nuclear arsenal.

Snyder noted that there are 9 countries in the world with nuclear weapons, and these countries collectively possess 12,121 nuclear warheads.

Expressing concern over spending money on nuclear weapons, Snyder said, "In 2023, the 9 countries with nuclear weapons spent $91.4 billion on them. This amounts to nearly $3,000 per minute, which is a huge amount of money."

Snyder highlighted that the number of countries supporting a "nuclear-free" world is much higher than those spending on nuclear weapons. She attributed this to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, which makes the possession, use, and threat of use of nuclear weapons illegal.

Noting that nearly 100 countries have signed and ratified this treaty, Snyder emphasized that almost half of the world agrees on the danger of these weapons and that no one should control them.

"Nuclear Weapons Affect Even Distant Countries"

Drawing attention to the danger posed by 9 countries worldwide possessing nuclear weapons, Snyder said, "If these are used at any time and under any circumstances, they will have an impact beyond borders. That is the dangerous aspect of nuclear weapons. You cannot contain them. Nuclear weapons affect even a country far from where they are used."

Snyder underlined that it is impossible to escape the effects of nuclear weapons and that their use must be prevented.

Referring to Israel's nuclear weapons, Snyder stated:

"This is an open secret. Everyone knows that Israel has nuclear weapons, but Israel does not acknowledge it. The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute estimates that Israel has about 90 nuclear warheads. This is sufficient for any nuclear weapon to cause a major catastrophe and devastating damage. In our report, we mention Israel's nuclear weapons because they have them."

Snyder emphasized that Israel spends a significant amount of money to maintain its nuclear weapons and noted that they do not specify how much is spent on nuclear weapons in their national budgets.

"Therefore, we use an estimate based on the average nuclear expenditures of other countries and how much Israel generally spends on its military programs. Based on this, we estimate that Israel spent about $1.1 billion on nuclear weapons in 2023," Snyder said.

Snyder noted that they did not see a significant increase in nuclear weapons spending after October 7, 2023, when Israel intensified its attacks on Gaza. "Israel is not transparent about this. We would be very pleased if they confirm whether our assessment of their nuclear spending is accurate. I think this would be very beneficial for us and the rest of the world. This way, we can address this issue," she said.