The head of the United Nations nuclear watchdog, Mohamed ElBaradei, arrives in Israel today to urge the government to begin talks about ridding the Middle East of nuclear arms, whether or not it finally admits to manufacturing weapons of mass destruction. Israel has no intention of acknowledging that it has nuclear weapons, or of opening its reactors to international inspection. But the visit of the International Atomic Energy Agency chief comes as Israel is increasingly sensitive to pressure for it to be subject to the same standards of international accountability demanded of other countries in the Middle East. The release from prison of the nuclear whistleblower Mordechai Vanunu sharpened the focus on Israel’s arsenal.Full Story