Israel ready to ratify treaty banning nuclear tests

Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared Monday that his country is prepared to ratify a treaty banning nuclear tests, a senior UN official Lassina Zerbo said after meeting with the Israeli leader.

Lassina Zerbo, who heads the UN organization created to implement the treaty, told The Associated Press that Benjamin Netanyahu considers the issue of ratifying the treaty a matter of “when, rather than if.”

He considers ratification by Israel a key step toward a nuclear test-free zone in the Middle East and said the commitment by Netanyahu was a first for the prime minister after protracted discussions on a technical level between the CTBTO and Israeli experts, The Star reports.