Jerusalem Post

      In a move unprecedented by any Israeli leader, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Monday included Israel in a list of nuclear nations. In an interview with the German television network SAT 1, Olmert was asked about the statement by newly-appointed US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates regarding Israel's nuclear capability. The prime minister became enraged when he was asked if the fact that Israel possessed nuclear power weakened the West's position against Iran. "Israel is a democracy and does not threaten anyone," Olmert exclaimed. The only thing we have tried to do is to live without [threats of] terror, but we have never threatened anyone with annihilation. Iran explicitly, openly and publicly threatens to wipe Israel off the map.The Prime Minister's Office denied on Monday evening that Olmert's statement was an official acknowledgement that Israel possessed nuclear weapons. (20,18)