The Buzz | UN says Israel to ratify nuke test ban treaty

Israel’s prime minister declared yesterday that his country is prepared to ratify a treaty banning nuclear tests, a senior U.N. official said after meeting with the Israeli leader.
Lassina Zerbo, who heads the U.N. organization created to implement the treaty, told AP that Benjamin Netanyahu considers the issue of ratifying the treaty a matter of “when, rather than if.” Israeli ratification would move the treaty closer to taking effect, leaving only seven holdouts among the 44 countries that must ratify it for the pact to go live.
Zerbo, who heads the Vienna-based Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty Organization, spoke to the AP by telephone after meeting in Israel with Netanyahu.