UN nuke agency assembly narrowly votes against Arab bloc move to censure Israel

Arab move to censure Israel stymied at UN meeting

VIENNA — A 151-nation meeting of the U.N. nuclear agency has narrowly voted against an Arab push to censure Israel for not opening up its nuclear activities to inspection.

Of nations present, 51 voted against a resolution called “Israeli Nuclear Capabilities.” Fifty-one voted for, and 23 abstained. The rest were absent.

The vote was closely watched after last year’s meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency passed the same resolution by a small margin.

The U.S. and other allies of Israel had argued passage would threaten ongoing Mideast peace talks and the chances of a planned 2012 conference on a Mideast nuclear-free zone. Islamic nations and their supporters said the resolution was meant to move chances of creating such a zone forward.