Former technician Vanunu, who served an 18-year prison sentence for lifting the lid on the inner workings at the Dimona nuclear plant in the southern Negev desert, has since been refused permission to travel abroad or associate with foreigners.

But he told a closed-door session at the high court that he "did not have additional information" about Israel's nuclear potential in addition to the revelations he gave to Britain's Sunday Times newspaper in 1986, said a judicial source.

He said that the restrictions were preventing him from leading a normal life and were motivated by a desire for vengeance by the authorities who still regard him as a traitor.

The government has argued that Vanunu, 50, still possesses information that poses a danger to state security.

The court hearing was adjourned and the decision will be announced at a later date.

WAR.WIRE