The claim
“Israel has been believed to possess nuclear weapons since the 1960s, although it has never officially confirmed its nuclear weapons program.”
Our verdict
True
Multiple reputable sources, including the Wikipedia entry on Israel and the Nuclear Threat Initiative, state that Israel is widely believed to have acquired nuclear weapons in the 1960s while maintaining a policy of deliberate opacity and never officially confirming a nuclear arsenal.
What we found
Multiple reputable sources, including the Wikipedia entry on Israel and the Nuclear Threat Initiative, state that Israel is widely believed to have acquired nuclear weapons in the 1960s while maintaining a policy of deliberate opacity and never officially confirming a nuclear arsenal.
The evidence
2 sources, all background: none settles the claim either way.
- Background
The Wikipedia article on Israel notes that the state maintains a policy of nuclear opacity and that most analysts believe it acquired nuclear weapons in the 1960s.
en.wikipedia.org· Wikipedia – Israel nuclear ambiguity - Background
NTI describes Israel’s “policy of nuclear opacity” and states that Israel has never officially confirmed a nuclear weapons program.
nti.org· Nuclear Threat Initiative – policy of opacity
How we checked
We reviewed 2 relevant sources.
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