ABSTRACT
A historical departure: Israel is no longer the reason for eventual Arab nuclear proliferation in the Middle East. Israel remains the only nuclear state in the Middle East and a constant challenge to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. The nuclear agreement between Iran and the P5+1 in July 2015 consolidated the Israeli nuclear monopoly in the region for the foreseeable future. As the nature of threats to the security of states changes, the nuclear capacity that was the ultimate weapon for providing security to Israel is no longer sufficient. Now, it is the non-state armed actors who question the legitimacy of the Westphalian system. If in the new regional strategic reconfiguration Arab states represent no existential threat to Israel, how can Tel Aviv justify maintaining its nuclear capability? The paradox of the current situation is that Israel and its traditional Arab enemies are facing common adversaries. Are we witnessing the beginning of a nuclear-free Middle East in light of this paradigm shift?
Israel has a monopoly over nuclear weapons in the Middle East and is among the four nuclear capable states in Asia. In a continent in which nuclear countries boast about their capabilities, Israel is the only one that holds an ambiguous position on its nuclear arms.
