Peres, a former president and prime minister of Israel, founded Israel’s arms production industry and led efforts to develop a nuclear weapon. His work led to the building of the nuclear reactor at Dimona, in secret and with French assistance beginning in the late 1950s. The reactor became active between 1962 and 1964. According to reports, enough plutonium has been produced at the reactor at Dimona to fuel between 100 and 200 nuclear bombs.