Nevertheless, the Israeli Parliament in October approved a unilateral initiative to withdraw from the Gaza Strip and areas in the northern part of the West Bank.

21, 1960, he told the Israeli parliament in an emotional speech that Dimona existed and was "meant to be used only for peaceful purposes" The Holocaust loomed large in Israel's consciousness, and Ben-Gurion was convinced that possession of a bomb was central to avoiding a repetition of the slaughter of Jews.

Issam Makhoul, member of the Israeli Parliament (Knesset), who in February 2000 initiated the first parliamentary debate on nuclear policy ever to be held in Israel, stated: "Only those who struggle for total disarmament of the Middle East, including Israel, of all weapons of mass destruction--nuclear, biological and chemical--have the moral right to condemn Iran for its nuclear project.