The Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak has demanded that Israel's weapons of mass destruction be submitted to the same UN inspections being imposed on Iraq.
The Egyptian leader also warned against any attempts to exploit the US-led war against terrorism to change regimes by force.
Speaking at the opening of the new session of Egypt's parliament today, Mubarak said:"We continue to demand, with insistence, that the same norms be applied to Israel to get rid of all its weapons of mass destruction potential," Mubarak said to sustained applause from lawmakers.
Such a move would "consolidate the international movement toward the banning of the proliferation of these weapons, because of their danger for all humanity," he said.
He also stressed the necessity of "opposing campaigns, being conducted by certain parties, to exploit the international campaign against terrorism with the aim of bringing about economic benefits or changing leaders and regimes by force," without naming any countries.
Mubarak has urged Iraq, which faces a theat of US-led military action if it does not end banned weapons programmes, to accept new UN Security Council Resolution 1441 to avert a war which would likely topple its government.
But Israel is also widely believed to possess weapons of mass destruction, including an arsenal of nuclear missiles, although it has never formally admitted to them.
AFP