BERNARD SHAW, CNN ANCHOR: Wednesday, Israel's parliament took on a subject it has never publicly talked about before: nuclear weapons. Our CNN Jerusalem bureau chief, Walter Rodgers, reports.</s>WALTER RODGERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Arab and Jewish members of the Israeli parliament exchanged comic insults with each other in the first-ever public debate over Israel's nuclear policy. Debate was initiated by Issam Mahoul, an Arab parliamentarian: Mahoul claiming the whole world knows Israel has a great stockpile of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons -- he alleged 200 to 300 nuclear bombs. Some outraged members of parliament walked out. Israel has never publicly acknowledged having nuclear weapons nor openly debated nuclear policy. Even the parliamentary speaker who permitted the debate was outraged, gaveling down Mahoul for his disclosures. Five Arab members of the Knesset were thrown out for interrupting.</s>ISSAM MAHOUL, ISRAELI KNESSET MEMBER: Israel also tries to play the role of a nuclear Rambo in the Middle East.</s>RODGERS: Israel maintains a policy of deliberate ambiguity about nuclear weapons to keep potential adversaries guessing. Without confirming Israel has nuclear weapons, government spokesman Chaim Ramon (ph) did talk about one adversary whose nuclear potential worries Israelis: Ramon saying -- quote -- "I have to say Iran bothers me, especially speeches about Iranian leaders who talk about the destruction of Israel." One Jewish parliamentarian defended the debate, saying -- quote -- "All I have to do is go to the Internet, and everything we're not allowed to talk about here is there." And she asked, "Are we going to make a laughingstock of ourselves now?" (on camera): The Israeli government had been moving very slowly toward a more open nuclear policy: thus this debate. But instead of a constructive discussion, the harsh tones of this first debate, with Israeli Arabs on one side and Israeli Jews mostly on the other, may have closed the door on this issue for a while longer. Walter Rodgers, CNN, Jerusalem.
Knesset Holds First Public Debate About Nuclear Policy