I think it was Ehud Barak.

AFAIK Israel is not part of the IAEA, so no NPT, so no control or inspection. Perfect example of a rogue state.

The abundance of uranium and thorium is of the same magnitude. The thing is economics. Uranium is cheap, and as long it is, we use the sources we have. As the peice of uranium rises other sources get economical including sea water extraction which is effectively renewable.