This annotated chronology is based on the data sources that follow each entry. Public sources often provide conflicting information on classified military programs. In some cases we are unable to resolve these discrepancies, in others we have deliberately refrained from doing so to highlight the potential influence of false or misleading information as it appeared over time. In many cases, we are unable to independently verify claims. Hence in reviewing this chronology, readers should take into account the credibility of the sources employed here.

Inclusion in this chronology does not necessarily indicate that a particular development is of direct or indirect proliferation significance. Some entries provide international or domestic context for technological development and national policymaking. Moreover, some entries may refer to developments with positive consequences for nonproliferation.

3 February 2000
The Knesset holds its first public discussion of Israel's nuclear program in more than 35 years. Israeli Arab MP Issam Makul petitioned the Supreme Court to request the debate. Representing the Israeli government, cabinet member Chaim Ramon reiterates what he says are Israel's guiding nuclear principles: that Israel will not be the first country in the Middle East to introduce nuclear weapons, that Israel supports in principle preventing the spread of nuclear weapons, and that Israel supports the creation of a region free of nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles once there is a "proven peace over a sustained period of time." The debate lasts only 52 minutes.
—"Israeli Lawmakers Hold Quick Debate on Nuclear Arms," The New York Times, 3 February 2000; "Arab MP Forces Knesset Debate on Nuclear Policy," Manchester Guardian Weekly, 16 February 200.

22 February 2000
Israel and the United States sign an agreement giving Israeli scientists access to monitoring technologies to be used for verifying nuclear nonproliferation. U.S. Secretary of Energy tells a news conference that, "It is a signal that Israel is a friendly country. It is not treated in a similar fashion as others on our list of sensitive countries."
—"United States to Allow Israeli Scientists Access to Nuclear Technology," Associated Press, 22 February 2000.

26 March 2000
London's Sunday Times reports that the Israeli government is considering planting small nuclear landmines near the Golan Heights which could be detonated to halt a Syrian tank invasion. The plan, reportedly called "David's Sling," involves deploying neutron bombs in the manner of landmines to thwart any tank advance after the mountain region is handed back to Syria as a result of peace talks between Damascus and Tel Aviv. The paper also alleges that a neutron artillery shell has already been tested and laser-guided rockets with neutron warheads are ready for use.
—"Israeli Plan for Golan Heights Nuclear Shield," Sunday Times (London), 26 March 2000.

26 March 2000
Israeli Deputy Defense Minister Ephraim Sneh denies the report in The Sunday Times of London that Israel plans to lay landmines in the Golan Heights in order to prevent Syrian attack after Israeli forces withdraw. Sneh tells The Jerusalem Post that, "The Sunday Times is ignoring the fact that Purim has passed and it's not yet April Fool's Day. 'David's Sling' is a pretty name for plans and operations, but this report is truly stupid."
—"Sneh Denies report Israel Will Seed Golan with Neutron Mines," The Jerusalem Post, 27 March 2000.

30 April 2000
Shimon Peres openly discusses with the Foreign Press Association the benefits of a policy of nuclear ambiguity and cites Iran and Iraq as the chief threats to Israel's security. He postulates that, "As long as the suspicion is clear enough to deter, why should we go clearer than that? We don't want to threaten anybody, we want to deter. ...Iraq and Iran signed the NPT. So what? They are building in full daylight a nuclear capacity. There is no one to stop them. ...Our problem is not Egypt. Our problem is not Jordan (nor) many of the Arab countries. Our problem is basically Iran and Iraq, two irresponsible governments that are clearly building a nuclear capacity and there is nobody in the world (to stop them)."
—"Peres Defends Israel's Nuclear Ambiguity," United Press International, 30 April 2000.

12 June 2000
Avner Cohen, author of the controversial book Israel and the Bomb, appeals for a chance to present his case to the Knesset. Cohen has not been to Israel since the publication of his book for fear of arrest by Israeli authorities.
—"'Exiled' Israeli Academic Seeks Knesset Hearing on Book About Nuclear History," The Jerusalem Post, 13 June 2000.

18 June 2000
London's Sunday Times reports that Israel Defense Forces claim to have tested a submarine-launched cruise missile capable of carrying a nuclear warhead. The test is said to have hit its target 900 miles away. This test demonstrates Israel's three-pillared second strike capability.
—"Israel Makes Nuclear Waves with Submarine Missile Test," Sunday Times (London), 18 June 2000.

July 2000
Israel completes reception an order for three Dolphin-class diesel submarines from the German firm of Thyssen-Nordseewerke. The submarines are reportedly able to launch nuclear-capable cruise missiles, an essential component of Israel's intended second-strike capacity.
— "Navy Gets New German Sub," Ha'aretz, 26 July 2000 as cited in Cirincione, Joseph with Wolfsthal, Jon B. and Rajkumar, Miriam, Deadly Arsenals, Tracking Weapons of Mass Destruction (Washington DC, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, 2002), 222-223.

August 2000
The Federation of American Scientists (FAS) posts on its website images of the Dimona nuclear complex taken by Space Imaging Corporation's Ikonos satellite. The accompanying FAS report states that the pictures "indicate that no new cooling towers were constructed in the years between 1971 and 2000. ...This strongly suggests that the reactor's power level has not been increased significantly during this period. This would suggest an annual production rate of plutonium of about 20kg." The report estimates Israel's nuclear stockpile at 100 to 200 weapons.
—"Israel 'May Have Nuclear Weapons,'" BBC News, 23 August 2000, <http://news.bbc.co.uk>, "Politics-Egypt/Israel: Satellite Sheds Light on Israeli Nukes," Inter Press Service, 12 September 2000.

1 November 2000
Environmental ministers from Arab League states begin a two-day meeting on the effects of Israeli policies on the Palestinian ecology. They allege that the "outdated technology" of the nuclear reactor at Dimona is an environmental threat and call for its closure.
—"Arab Ministers Meet on Israeli "Damage" to Palestinian Environment," Argence France Presse, 1 November 2000.

13 March 2001
Israel's Ha'aretz reports that newly-elected Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has no intention of modifying Israel's policy of nuclear ambiguity. It states that Sharon is also expected to renew the American-Israeli "nuclear understanding," which dictates that Israel will not conduct any public nuclear tests and not declare that it possesses nuclear weapons.
—"Sharon to Maintain Israel's "Ambiguity" on Nuclear Weapons: Report," Argence France Presse, 13 March 2001, "Sharon to Remain Mum on Nukes," Ha'aretz, 13 March 2001.

14 March 2001
Avner Cohen, author of the book Israel and the Bomb, returns to Israel for the first time since its publication. He is questioned by Israeli authorities, but not arrested. Cohen published his book in the United States to avoid Israeli government censorship and has been working as a senior researcher at George Washington University in Washington, D.C.
—"Israeli Author Returns Home, challenging Israel's Nuclear Policy," Associated Press, 14 March 2001.

21 April 2001
Israeli officials detain a former military scientist for passing sensitive information to a Russian woman. Retired Brigadier General Itzhak Yaakov played an important role in Israel's nuclear weapons program and holds joint American-Israeli citizenship.
—"Israel Holds Nuclear Scientist in Spy Scare: Sunday Times," Agence France Presse, 21 April 2001.

3 May 2001
The Israeli Atomic Energy Commission denies allegations by Egypt and Jordan that radiation from the Dimona reactor has been seeping into their land. Israel officials say that the allegations are politically motivated.
—"Israel: Atomic Energy Body Denies Radioactivity Seeping into Egypt, Jordan," BBC Worldwide Monitoring, 3 May 2001.

10 May 2001
Representatives from Israel's State Archives enter the home of Miriam Eshkol, widow of former Prime Minister Levi Eshkol, while she out of the country to confiscate documents relating to state nuclear secrets. Ha'aretz reports that Defense Ministry, alarmed by persistent leaks of nuclear secrets to the media, ordered the seizure.
—"Report: Israeli Defense Ministry Confiscates Nuclear Papers from Premier's Widow," Associated Press, 11 May 2001.

7 September 2001
Former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu publicly urges Israel to discontinue its official policy of nuclear ambiguity in light of changing conditions, namely the progression of Iran's nuclear program.
—"Netanyahu Wants Veil on Israeli Nuclear Secrets Lifted: Report," Agence France Presse, 7 September 2001.

December 2001
A television documentary made by Israel's leading documentary team in which Shimon Peres discloses details of Israel's nuclear program is broadcast in the Arab world. The film shows testimony by former French officials about how France was complicit in developing Israel's nuclear weapons program. Shown in Israel the month before, it is broadcast by Qatar-based satellite channel Al-Jazeera and other Arab networks. There is speculation that the broadcast of explicit information about Israel's nuclear capability throughout the Arab world is intended to send a deliberate warning at a time of heightened tensions in the region.
—"Israel Reveals Secrets of How it Gained Bomb, Peres Gives Details of How France Helped with Development of Nuclear Programme," Sunday Telegraph (London), 23 December 2001.

2002
The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace estimates that Israel possesses between 98 and 172 nuclear weapons.
— Cirincione, Joseph with Wolfsthal, Jon B. and Rajkumar, Miriam, Deadly Arsenals, Tracking Weapons of Mass Destruction (Washington DC, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, 2002), 221, 224.

14 January 2002
Former Israeli cabinet minister and physics professor Yuval Neeman states that during Israel's wars the government has shut down the nuclear reactor at Dimona. He tells a symposium at Tel Aviv University that reactor shut down was "one of the first things done in war time."
—"Israeli Experts Ponder Nuclear Issues," United Press International, 14 January 2002.

February 2002
Members of Jordan's Green Party ask United Nations Secretary General Kofi Anan to demand that Israel's nuclear reactor at Dimona be subject to international inspections and monitoring because of the potential dangers it poses to the environment and people of the Middle East. They say that American satellite images show large cracks in the wall of the reactor that may be leaking radioactivity that can harm the plant's workers and Jordanians.
—"Jordan Week: An Unconventional Report on Jordanian News and Views, The Star," World Sources Inc., 9 February 2002.

14 May 2002
Retired Brigadier General Yitzhak Yaakov is convicted of passing sensitive information to an unauthorized person. Yaakov headed the Israeli Defense Forces weapons development authority until 1973.
—"Ex-General Convicted of Passing Secrets," United Press International, May 14 2002.

June 2002
Former State Department and Pentagon officials state that Israel has acquired three diesel submarines that it is arming with newly designed cruise missiles capable of caryying nuclear warheads, potentially giving Israel a triad of land-, sea-, and air-based nuclear weapons.
—"Israel Has Sub-Based Atomic Arms Capability," The Washington Post, 15 June 2002.

6 October 2002
Israeli officials say that Israel's Arrow anti-missile batteries would destroy 90 percent of incoming missiles in the event of an Iraqi attack. Israel also still has Patriot missiles batteries that are used as a second line of Defense.
—"Israel Says it Could Destroy 'More Than 90 Percent' of Incoming Missiles from Iraq," Associated Press, 6 October 2002.

24 October 2002
In response to a proposal put forward by Palestinian Minister of Environment Yousef Abu Safiyya, the Council of Arab Ministers of Environment address the importance of design a cooperation mechanism in the event of nuclear radiation exposure in the region. Safiyya alleged that there were indications of radiation leakage from Israel's Dimona nuclear reactor.
—"Egypt: Arab Ministers of Environment Discuss Dealing with Nuclear Radiation," Financial Times Information, 24 October 2002.

27 October 2002
Avigdor Feldman, defense attorney for convicted nuclear spy Mordechai Vanunu, alleges that Foreign Minister Shimon Peres of overstepping the limits of disclosure concerning Israel's secret nuclear weapons program. Peres is subpoenaed to testify at Vanunu's parole tribunal. Feldman's intention is to show that because Peres has disclosed intimate details of the nuclear program in an interview of the previous year, Vanunu should not be considered capable of further harming national security.
—"Peres Summoned to Testify at Vanunu Parole Hearing," Sunday Times (London), 27 October 2002.

November 2002
The United States offers Israel a new generation of Patriot anti-missile batteries in anticipation of a war with Iraq. The new Patriot missiles are specially designed to intercept Scud in flight and would be placed under the control of US troops deployed in Israel.
—"US Offers to Deploy New Patriot Missiles in Israel: Report," Agence France Presse, 26 November 2002.

27 November 20022
The Arab newspaper Al-Bawaba reports that Israel plans to build another nuclear reactor for generating electric power in southern Israel. The project is estimated to be completed by 2020 and would be for "civilian purposes." An additional reactor might enhance Israel's nuclear weapons capability.
—"Israel Plans to Build a Second Nuclear Reactor," Comtex News Network, 27 November 2002.

5 January 2003
Israel successfully test-fires Arrow anti-missile defense systems in a rehearsal for potential Scud attacks by Iraq in preparation for an American-led invasion of Iraq. Israel is also preparing for an attack on the Dimona reactor complex via Iraqi warplanes.
—"Israelis Test Defense Missiles in Preparation for War on Iraq," The Independent (UK), 6 January 2003.

19 January 2003
The Arab newspaper Al-Bawaba reports that workers shut down Israel's Nuclear Research Facility at Dimona in protest against plans to cut down the workforce. Employees suspend work for several hours in order to bring plant management to the negotiating table. The article estimates the total number of employees at Dimona to be approximately 2,700 scientists, technicians, and administrative staff.
—"Workers Shut Down Israel's Nuclear Facility in Dimona," Comtex News Network, 19 January 2003.

4 March 2003
The news agency Deutsche Presse-Agentur reports that Patriot missiles batteries, including two received from Germany, are to be deployed near Dimona.
—"US Teams Deploy Patriot Missiles in Tel Aviv Area," Deutsche Presse-Argentur, 4 March 2003.

October 2003
Speaking on condition of anonymity, two Bush administration insiders and one Israeli official confirm that Israel has modified American-supplied Harpoon cruise missiles to carry nuclear warheads. This report confirms Israel's ability to launch a nuclear strike from land, air, or sea, as well as its second-strike capability.
— "Israel Adds Fuel to Nuclear Dispute," Los Angeles Times, 12 October 2003.

2 January 2004
Israeli citizen Asher Karni is arrested at Denver International Airport while on a skiing vacation and charged with falsifying export invoices to smuggle nuclear "triggered spark gap" detonators to Pakistan.
—"Israeli Nuclear Suspect Awaits Fate," Al-Jazeera, 15 January 2004.

2 February 2004
As the discharge of convicted nuclear spy Mordechai Vanunu approaches, the Israeli government considers restricting his activities once relaeased. Israeli officials fear he will continue to disclose information about the nuclear weapons program. The governments is considering restricting his movements, preventing him from leaving the country by disqualifying him from obtaining a passport, censoring his writing, and barring him from giving interviews to the media.
—"Israel Plans to Restrict Nuclear Spy Vanunu After Release: Report," Deutsche Presse-Agentur, 2 February 2004.

8 February 2004
Former Mossad agent Shabtai Shavit states in an interview that the agency considered killing Mordechai Vanunu when he was taken into custody.
—"Syp Boss Reveals Mossad Considered Killing Vanunu," Sunday Times (London), 8 February 2004.

22 February 2004
A Defense Intelligence Agency report cited in a new book about Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld states that Israel has 82 nulcear weapons. The book, Rumsfeld's War, also makes estimates at the nuclear arsenals of other states of concern.
—"Report: Israel has 82 Nuclear Weapons," United Press International, 22 February 2004.

24 February 2004
In a discussion involving Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, the defense minister, the justice minister, the attorney general, the state attorney and defense officials that soon-to-be-released nuclear spy Mordechai Vanunu will not be placed under administrative detention after his release. He is to be placed under close government supervision, using technical means to monitor his movement. He may never be allowed to leave Israel again.
—"Isreal: Nuclear 'Spy' Vanunu May Face Indefinite Travel Ban," BBC Monitoring International Reports, 25 February 2004.

25 February 2004
In an interview with Al Arabiya television, IAEA Director Mohamed El Baradei says about Israel's nuclear weapons program: "I can't give a precise opinion on it because we don't do any inspections in Israel...I know it's a developed program, and Israel does not deny that it has nuclear capability, but the size of the program, the extent of its development, really I can't know...It's enough for me to know that it has nuclear capability, there is a conviction that it has a nuclear weapon."
—"Israeli Nuclear Arsenal a Mystery to UN Watchdog," Reuters, 25 February 2004.

16 March 2004
The Knesset debates a bill proposed by Arab MP Issam Makhul calling for the closure of Israel's nuclear reactor at Dimona because it has become an environmental hazard.
—"Arab Israeli MP Proposes Bill to Close Dimona Nuclear Reactor," Agence France Presse, 16 March 2004.

16 March 2004
The Knesset debates a bill proposed by Arab MP Issam Makhul calling for the closure of Israel's nuclear reactor at Dimona because it has become an environmental hazard.
—"Arab Israeli MP Proposes Bill to Close Dimona Nuclear Reactor," Agence France Presse, 16 March 2004.

21 April 2004
After having spent 18 years in prison for divulging sensitive information on the Israeli nuclear program, Mordechai Vanunu is released from custody. Upon release, Vanunu immediately defies the restrictions the Israeli government has place on him by speaking with the international media. He calls for Israel to open its nuclear program to international inspections.
—"Defiant Vanunu Freed After 18-Year Prison Term for Revealing Israel's Nuclear Secrets," Associated Press, 21 April 2004.

23 April 2004
In an interview for Israeli television Prime Minister Ariel Sharon alludes to Israel's nuclear program. Commenting on the potential threat posed by Iranian nuclear weapons, he says the United States recognizes Israel's right to defend itself from such threats. "But the recognition of Israel's right—and of the importance of Israel's ability—to defend itself, by itself, these things are clearly understood." He also used foreign press reports as a means of indirectly referencing the nuclear program, saying, "If you read the foreign press you will see that they talk about a whole complex of defensive tools, which Israel needs in its hands."
—"Sharon Hints at Israel's Nuclear Deterrent," Associated Press, 24 April 2004.

4 July 2004
The Israeli Atomic Energy Commission launches an official website, which does not mention any nuclear weapons program. This website provides a general and limited account of the facilities and history of Israel nuclear program, and has some community related information.
—"Israel's Secretive Nuclear Commission Launches Web Site," Associated Press, 4 July 2004; Israel Atomic Energy Commission Official Website, as viewed on July 2004, <http://www.iaec.gov.il/>.

4 July 2004
International Atomic Energy Agency officials state that Dr. El Baradei's will visit Israel on July 6, and that visit was partly a routine visit, and that IAEA Director intends to meet with the Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and other Israeli officials "to promote the concept of a nuclear weapons-free zone in the Middle East."
––Louis Charbonneau, "ElBaradei Wants Israel to Discuss Scrapping Nukes." Reuters, July 4, 2004.