Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has snubbed UN atomic watchdog chief Yukiya Amano who is on his first visit to Israel, the Haaretz nnewspaper reported on Tuesday Amano, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), had asked to meet with Netanyahu months ago, but the scheduled meeting was abruptly cancelled last week as the premier planned to go on holiday, the paper said.
It said the meeting had been due to take place on Monday afternoon, shortly after the IAEA chief landed in Israel and a few hours before the premier was due to start his holiday.
The daily cited a diplomat familiar with the visit as saying Amano was told that the meeting had been cancelled due to Netanyahu's vacation. "Netanyahu's decision to cancel his meeting with Amano raised eyebrows on Monday, particularly given the premier's fixation on Iran's nuclear programme," Haaretz said. Asked about the report, a senior official who asked not to be named said he was "not aware that that is true." The visit comes against a backdrop of demands by some IAEA members that Israel, generally considered to be the Middle East's sole if undeclared nuclear-armed power, sign up to the international Non-Proliferation Treaty.