Israeli Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu has cancelled a planned trip to Washington
next week for President Barack Obama's 47-country nuclear
security conference.

He made the decision after learning Egypt and Turkey
intended to raise the issue of Israel's assumed atomic arsenal
at the meeting, a senior government official said on Friday.

Israel is believed to be the only nuclear-armed power in the
Middle East, but has never confirmed or denied it. It has not
signed the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

Netanyahu saw Obama at the White House late last month to
discuss the stalled Israeli-Palestinian peace process. But they
failed to see eye to eye and bilateral ties remain strained.

"The prime minister has decided to cancel his trip to
Washington to attend the nuclear conference next week, after
learning that some countries including Egypt and Turkey plan to
say Israel must sign the NPT," the official said.