It’s one of the world’s worst-kept secrets: Israel possesses nuclear weapons. Not one or two — but dozens, perhaps even hundreds, developed in secret over decades. It built them quietly, outside any international treaty framework, with covert assistance and under the protection of powerful allies. Yet despite the staggering implications of this arsenal, there is no international outrage, no sanctions, no United Nations resolutions. Why? Because when it comes to nuclear weapons, the global rulebook isn’t written in law — it’s written in power and privilege. While the United States and its Western allies regularly lecture the world about the dangers of nuclear proliferation, they have shielded Israel’s nuclear program with silence and complicity. In sharp contrast, countries like Iran are threatened, sanctioned, and isolated merely for possessing the knowledge and infrastructure to enrich uranium — even under the watchful eye of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). The message is unambiguous: If you're an ally of the West — particularly the United States — you’re exempt from the rules. You can violate international norms, refuse inspections, even possess nuclear weapons, and still be hailed as a democracy. But if you're not in the favored circle, even peaceful nuclear research becomes a global emergency. This is not “strategic ambiguity.” This is nuclear hypocrisy at its ugliest. The same governments that invaded Iraq on false pretenses of weapons of mass destruction — weapons that didn’t exist — now turn a blind eye to a real and unregulated nuclear power in the region. They’ve imposed crushing sanctions on Iran for a civilian nuclear program that complied with the JCPOA (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action) — a multilateral deal signed in good faith, then shredded by Washington in 2018. At the same time, Israel has never signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). It has never allowed international inspections. Its nuclear program has never been officially acknowledged, let alone scrutinized. And yet, not only does it avoid censure, it continues to receive billions in military aid and diplomatic cover from the very powers that claim to defend non-proliferation. This isn’t a flaw in the system — it is the system. If any other state in the region acted with the same nuclear secrecy, launched preemptive airstrikes across borders, or carried out targeted assassinations of scientists on foreign soil, it would be labeled a “rogue regime.” But Israel does so routinely and receives applause for its “security measures.” It occupies Palestinian territories in violation of international law, has attacked Lebanon, Syria, and Iraq with impunity, and still claims moral superiority. Such a system doesn’t promote peace — it provokes resistance. The more the international community tolerates this imbalance, the more it pushes other nations to seek nuclear deterrents of their own. Because in a world where only the powerful are allowed to possess ultimate weapons, the rest will do what they must to survive. That’s not escalation — that’s self-preservation. Criticizing this imbalance isn’t radical. It’s honest. It's a recognition that selective morality leads only to instability. The notion that only “trusted” nations can be allowed to hold weapons of mass destruction is not just arrogant — it’s colonial. It enforces a two-tiered world order, where nuclear capability becomes a reward for loyalty rather than a matter of collective security. The solution is not to expand the club of nuclear states — it is to dismantle the club altogether. The Middle East needs a nuclear weapons-free zone, one that includes Israel and is enforced with the same energy and urgency that has been directed toward Iran. Without this, every claim about promoting peace and non-proliferation is meaningless. Until the international community is willing to hold all nations accountable — not just its enemies — the world cannot pretend to be upholding peace. It is upholding power.