Israel this week defended itself against what appears to be the first, long-awaited documentary proof of the widely-held belief that it offered nuclear warheads to the apartheid regime of South Africa in 1975.
The indignant denial by President Shimon Peres, through his spokeswoman, came within days of the re-imprisonment of nuclear scientist Mordechai Vanunu on charges of breaching state security.
The evidence, uncovered by American academic Sasha Polakow-Suransky using official US archives for a forthcoming book, was published by Guardian reporter Chris McGreal who has been writing on the South Africa-Israel connection for several years.
Israel’s unequivocal official denial appeared to centre on the status of the documents – ones drawn up by South African officials rather than their Israeli counterparts.
Israel’s President Shimon Peres was his country’s defence minister in 1975 at the time of the secret meetings between the two governments.
The secret documents, declassified by the post-apartheid South African government, feature minutes of meetings between officials of both countries and include a cover note signed by PW Botha, then South Africa’s defence minister, and his Israeli counterpart Mr Peres.
When Mr Botha raised the question of weapons with Mr. Peres the Israeli minister is reported to have said he could provide them in three sizes.
The “in three sizes” remark was reportedly a reference to conventional, biological and nuclear weapons.
The original documents state the “very existence of this agreement” was “secret and shall not to be disclosed by either party”.
President Peres’ spokeswoman, Ayelet Frisch, said there was “no basis, no foundation in reality” for the reports.
“We regret that The Guardian used in the story documents by the South African government officials rather than documents that present the facts.
“Israel did not conduct any negotiations for the sale of nuclear weapons to South Africa and none of the aforementioned documents are original signed Israeli documents that confirm the existence of such talks of such negotiations.”
Meanwhile, 55-year old technician and whistle-blower Mordechai Vanunu, who revealed Israel’s nuclear programme at Dimona to the Sunday Times in1986 and served 18 years in jail as a consequence, for talking to reporters. In December, Mr Vanunu was sentenced to three months community service or three months in prison, for violating the terms of his 2004 release from prison. Israel is believed to have around 200 nuclear warheads and has refused to sign the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty or to allow international surveillance of Dimona in the southern Negev desert.
