scientific and technological capabilities in those areas. 10. On the basis of the foregoing, the Arab States stress the following principled positions on those issues: (a) All States parties to the Treaty have the fundamental, inalienable right to possess and develop nuclear technology for peaceful purposes. Any attempt to so interpret any Article of the Treaty as to restrict that right is unacceptable; (b) The comprehensive safeguards agreements of the International Atomic Energy Agency are the legal framework and benchmark for verifying that nuclear energy is used for peaceful purposes in accordance with the Treaty. The Additional Protocol to the Treaty is voluntary and non-binding; (c) No new commitments for non-nuclear-weapon States parties to the Treaty can be accepted until there has been genuine progress in achieving the universality of the Treaty, realizing nuclear disarmament, ensuring that all States parties comply with current commitments and, in particular, ensuring implementation of the resolution on the Middle East adopted at the 1995 Review and Extension Conference; (d) The International Atomic Energy Agency has sole responsibility for verifying implementation of comprehensive safeguards agreements with States parties. The Arab States urge the Agency to maintain its neutrality and function in conformity with the Statute; (e) The Arab States call on the Agency to halt the technical programmes provided to Israel. Cooperation with Israel on nuclear issues should be suspended until it accedes to the Treaty as a non-nuclear-weapon State and places all its nuclear facilities under a comprehensive safeguards agreement. Those steps are a necessary precondition in order to promote the universality, credibility and effectiveness of the Treaty; (f) The Arab States reject attacks and/or the threat of attacks against nuclear facilities. Such actions would have negative repercussions on nuclear security and regional and international peace and security and, by using force in such cases, bring into question the application of international law.