Israel to seek French help for nuclear power plant: ministry (AFP)

JERUSALEM (AFP) –

Israel will officially announce on Tuesday that it is seeking French help to construct a nuclear power plant, the infrastructure ministry spokesman said on Monday.

Chen Lulu said minister Uzi Landau would tell an international conference on civilian nuclear energy in Paris that he sees such a plant as a joint project between Israel and Jordan, with France supervising and providing technology.

"He mentioned this three months ago to French Ecology Minister (Jean-Louis) Borloo, who showed great interest and said he would discuss it with President (Nicolas) Sarkozy," Lulu said in a statement.

Israel is not a signatory to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and has said it will not sign up for a Middle East nuclear-free zone being promoted by the United States.

The Jewish state is widely reported to have nuclear weapons but refuses to confirm or deny such reports, pursuing what it calls a policy of "nuclear ambiguity."

With the United States, Israel has been at the forefront of calls for tough sanctions to halt Iran's controversial nuclear programme which it says is a cover for building nuclear weapons.

Tehran insists its atomic ambitions are for peaceful civilian purposes.

Israel, which has a severe power shortage, is an arid country with no option of hydroelectric generation and no oil, and the government faces local opposition to building more coal-fired electricity plants.

"We have to check options which are safe and cause the least environmental damage," an infrastructure ministry statement quoted Landau as saying before departing for Paris.

"Nuclear technology has many positive uses which have the ability to serve the cause of peace and cooperation," he said.

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