That threat grew more acute Thursday, one day after Israeli police detained Peter Hounam, the British journalist who revealed the one-time technician's secrets about the Jewish state's nuclear arsenal in the Sunday Times almost 20 years ago.

Vanunu was abducted by Israeli secret service agents in Italy, smuggled back to Israel and then jailed in 1986 after leaking top-secret details about the Dimona plant in southern Israel's Negev desert to the British newspaper.

The Moroccan-born Vanunu, 50, is defiant and says he does not regret his actions, but denies he had further secrets to reveal.

"To all of those who are calling me a traitor, I am proud and happy that I did what I did," Vanunu told reporters upon leaving Shikma prison in southern Israel on April 21, to the cheers of hundreds of foreign supporters.

"The whole Middle East is free of nuclear weapons. Israel does not need nuclear weapons," he said.

He called on Israel to open up the Dimona nuclear plant to inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the UN's nuclear watchdog.

A convert to Christianity in the 1980s, Vanunu now lives in the Anglican church's St George's Cathedral in east Jerusalem.

Reviled as a traitor by most Israelis and disowned by his devout parents for abandoning Judaism, Vanunu is viewed abroad as a hero and cause celebre for the anti-nuclear movement.

He would like to live in the United States, home of Nick and Mary Eoloff, the Minnesota couple who legally adopted him in the 1990s.

But for the time being, he will remain in Israel due to the severe restrictions placed on his movements and contact with foreigners.

He is barred from leaving Israel for a year, and cannot go anywhere near the country's ports or airports for at least six months following his April release. Both measures are subject to renewal by Israeli authorities.

He must alert security services of his movements, and obtain prior approval for any meetings with foreign nationals.

Israel has never acknowledged having a nuclear arsenal but foreign experts believe it has produced between 100 and 200 nuclear warheads.

WAR.WIRE