Israel

Nuclear-armed state

Possesses 90 nuclear weapons

Has not yet joined the TPNW

SIGNED

RATIFIED

IN FORCE

Status

Israel has not yet signed or ratified the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW).

National position

Israel has consistently voted against an annual UN General Assembly resolution since 2018 that welcomes the adoption of the TPNW and calls upon all states to sign, ratify, or accede to it “at the earliest possible date”.

In 2023, Israel said that it has “deep reservations” regarding the TPNW “based on substantive as well as procedural considerations”, arguing that the negotiating process for the treaty failed “to give due regard to the security and stability context”.

It added that the TPNW “does not create, contribute to the development of nor indicate the existence of customary international law related to the subject of or the content of the treaty” and, therefore, “Israel is not obliged by it in any way”.

A message projected onto the UN headquarters in New York in 2022 calls on Israel to join the TPNW. Photo: ICAN

Nuclear-weapon programme

Israel possesses approximately 90 nuclear weapons. As it will neither confirm nor deny that it has such weapons, little is known about its arsenal, but it is believed to be able to launch nuclear weapons from missiles, submarines, and aircraft.

In 2024, Israel spent an estimated US$1.1 billion to build and maintain its nuclear forces.

Israel may have conducted a nuclear test with South Africa in 1979 over the ocean between the southern part of Africa and Antarctica.

TPNW negotiations

Israel did not participate in the negotiation of the TPNW at the United Nations in New York in 2017 and thus did not vote on its adoption.

In 2016, Israel voted against the UN General Assembly resolution that established the formal mandate for states to commence negotiations on “a legally binding instrument to prohibit nuclear weapons, leading towards their total elimination”.

ICAN campaigners criticise the decision of nuclear-armed states, including Israel, to boycott the TPNW negotiations in 2017. Photo: ICAN

Further information

Nuclear Weapons Ban Monitor

Israel

Nuclear-armed state

Possesses 90 nuclear weapons

Has not yet joined the TPNW

Status

National position

Nuclear-weapon programme

TPNW negotiations

Further information

Local Partner Organizations

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