World Bulletin/News Desk

A UN General Assembly committee on Tuesday passed a draft resolution demanding Israel give up its nuclear arsenal.

The committee, which is responsible for global security, called on Israel to place all its nuclear facilities under international monitoring.

The draft resolution, entitled "The risk of nuclear proliferation in the Middle East," obtained the support of 161 states against 5 others including the United States. Another 18 countries abstained from the vote.

The resolution recalls Israel’s signing the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons and placement of all its nuclear facilities under comprehensive International Atomic Energy Agency safeguards.

It calls on Israel "to renounce possession of nuclear weapons as an important confidence-building measure among all states of the region and as a step towards enhancing peace and security."

Israel is widely believed to possess a substantial nuclear arsenal, which it does not officially acknowledge.

The Egypt-drafted resolution is nonbinding and would have to be approved by the 193-member General Assembly.